The back story is that I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for 9 months. He is currently going through a divorce (they have been separated for over a year). He is in the process of buying out his ex wife from their house as she can’t afford to live there on her own. She moved out last December and now has her own place. They both own dogs, she has 1 and he has 2.
While they were still together, a friend of his ex wife asked if they could take care of her dog temporarily as she had to move back in with her parents, who already have an aggressive dog that can’t be around other animals. What was suppose to be a few months of care has turned into 2 years, and the dog is still there. Naturally, it is my boyfriend who takes care of the dog since his ex wife moved out last year. He pays for the dog’s food (the owner doesn’t offer any money). For some reason, his ex wife refuses to give him the owner's number, so he can’t reach out to her directly and has to message her if there’s any problems.
A while ago, the dog somehow got into the neighbours garden and ended up attacking their dog. She was also never house trained as a pup and just does her business all around the house instead. He has tried to train her but she's too old for that now. Fortunately, both of his dogs are house trained. Understandably, he's fed up and asked if the owner could take the dog back. That was a few weeks ago and he’s not heard anything since. Fast forward to now, and the dog isn’t well. He thinks it might be related to her back legs, but isn’t sure. He has a vet appointment tomorrow and the owner is meeting him there. He’s worried about the possibility of the dog needing surgery, as he doesn’t think the owner can afford it, which might leave him to pay. My boyfriend is a huge dog lover and would hate to see the dog in pain or be put to sleep just because of money.
I usually wouldn't get involved, but he was venting to me last night about the situation. I suggested he contact the RSPCA since the owner clearly isn't able to care for the dog, which isn't fair to either the dog or him. She has essentially abandoned her dog. Apparently, she has been trying to get her own place (for 2 years?!) and once she does, she plans to take the dog back. The problem is that this could take months or even years, and in the meantime, my boyfriend is very stressed looking after the dog. He wasn't keen on that suggestion, so I proposed that his ex wife take care of the dog for the time being. Since it is her friend, it seems like a reasonable solution? However, he said that he didn't want to do that because they have been getting along well so far, and he didn't want to upset her during the divorce as it might complicate things.
We ended up having an argument, and he told me I didn't understand the situation. I genuinely feel like they are taking advantage of him because they know he loves animals and wouldn't let any suffer or be on the streets. AIBU?