to be annoyed about this situation with neighbour and her dog?

[CantGetBackToSleep]

I’m lying awake because I don’t know what to do about this situation.

On Sunday our neighbour came to see us visibly upset. Her mum had been taken into hospital and she had been told to get there asap. Her mum lives in Scotland and we are in the South of England so she was panicking about getting there on time and also about who would look after her dog. We helped her book a flight as she was in a state shaking and in no state to think properly. She asked if we could have her dog for a few days. Reluctantly we agreed but said we were leaving to go on holiday on Friday evening so she would need to make other arrangements by Friday morning for him. We went and collected the dog and he has been with us since. We have our own dogs and they are all getting on well.

Our neighbour text me on Monday to say her mum had died. We had a brief text conversation and obviously I said how sorry I was to hear about her mum.

I text her on Wednesday morning to say that I know she has a lot to deal with but we really need to know what she’s doing about her dog as we are due to go away. I didn’t hear anything so I text her again yesterday to ask what she wanted us to do with the dog and got a text from another of her relatives from her phone saying our neighbour is very upset and isn’t in the right place to sort this out. I replied to say I understood but that when we agreed to have the dog, it was on the condition that she made other arrangements for the dog by Friday morning as we are due to go on holiday. I didn’t get a reply. I tried to call last night but it went to voicemail. I had already called our nearest boarding kennels who do have space so I told her on the voicemail that I could drop him at kennels but she needs to give them her payment details. I still haven’t had a reply from my neighbour.

What do we do? I’ve asked other neighbours and they won’t have him. My parents are having our dogs while we are away but are not willing to take the neighbours dog as well.

A friend has suggested I drop him at our local vets which is the vet my neighbour uses but I don’t think they would be ok with that. Another friend said if it comes to it to call the rspca, explain the situation and say he’s basically been abandoned.

I’m so stressed. I know my neighbour has lost her mum but we are not missing our holiday.

You can’t lie like that. And OP has dropped the dog at the local vets if you RTFT

As an aside, I always read RTFT as 'read the fucking thread', not 'full thread' as that is the level of exasperation it produces!

Greif stricken? I have lost my mum and sister and my best friend in the most awful circumstances and still managed to bring up my child and look after my dog. Her family member who replied for her could surely have shared her card details for kennels. No excuse!!

So you’ve pretended that you don’t know who’s dog it is? You are heartless OP, you have just added horrible stress to your neighbour. I would have sucked up the down payment for kennels. Now your neighbour is going to receive calls from vet and dog warden

Def Twat. Yes, that was a terrible situation and she’s upset. However……dogs are also family. She doesn’t care. If she did, she’d have got back to you. This isn’t not getting back to someone about theatre tickets for example. She may be grieving but she’s sorting out a funeral presumably so she can sort out texting you back details for a kennel. You haven’t asked her to do much. She doesn’t care about the dog/ Take the dog to Dogs Trust and say it was abandoned - which it was frankly.

Really? The OP has a holiday to go to, she's gone above and beyond in my book. The dog is safe, the owner can cough up the cash.

Sorry, I didn't mean to quote you, rather Apricot.

What about the OPs stress, trying to find out what she was meant to do with it as she had a holiday to prepare for?
Maybe OP couldn't afford to pay the down payment and quite frankly, why should she, even if she could?

Neighbour was able to get a relative to reach out so she could easily have got the same relative to arrange care for the dog. None of this is a reflection on OP, except her being kind enough to do what she already did. No good deed goes unpunished, eh.

I couldn't sleep at night not knowing where my dog was, even if the neighbour is distressed, she's still responsible for a living, breathing animal who relies on her.

At what point in the vets did the OP pretend not to know whose dog it was? The receptionist even knew the dog's owner.

Could you not have offered to pay for the kennels?
Edit: which would have been tricky as it isn't your dog and it isn't the OPs dog.

Yes she is going to receive calls, and rightly so.

In what way has the OP been heartless? She hasn't budgeted for kennel payments.

The neighbour caused the stress herself, by abdicating her responsibilities. Many of us have been through the most horrendous bereavements. We've done what we had to do - not because we're any stronger than other people, but because it needs to be done.

As others have said, she managed to find someone prepared to contact the OP on her behalf - the same person could have organised kennels.

The OP could not organise ordinary kennels without the vaccination details, anyway.

In my area, the only kennel which will take a dog without those details is the one that deals with abandoned/lost dogs for the local council and police. The council website actually advises people to phone the police outside normal office hours and displays the charge sheet for the owner, if the owner comes forward.

Enjoy your hol! Blocking a good idea

Take it into the country and let it go in a field. Tell the neighbour it ran away. Someone will look after it or it will eventually find its way back while you are away.

I'm really surprised the vet took it tbh.

Awful situation though, she must've had friends who could've collected it.

Good for you if you can afford to throw away money like that, a kennel for a week is 100s of pounds. And if she doesn't pay, it could all fall back on OP. She's done the right thing. Heartless would be chucking it out onto the street, taking it to the vets as an abandoned dog is absolutely fair

What a bizarre post. The dog belongs to the neighbour, not the OP. The OP was very kind to take it at all. Now she's gone on holiday and in the meantime found someone to help.

On another point, I thought the charities didn't put down a healthy dog these days so why are people saying the RSPCA would put it down.

We don't have dog wardens where I live. I did look at our local council website to see what to do here, but it wasn't that clear.

You absolutely cannot do this to a dog! If the neighbour hasn't replied now, she's not going to. Leaving the dog to possibly starve is just downright cruel. OP did the best thing by taking him to the vet, at least he's now safe and taken care of.

🙄Not everyone has £100s lying around to pay for kennels!

Good. It’s what she deserves. OP is not heartless, she looked after the dog at short notice. Why should she be out of pocket for kennels because the neighbour is a CF?

Exactly. Lots of people have bereavements. Everyone in fact. It may be difficult but it’s not unusual and no excuse for this shitty behaviour

Gosh she's a cf and so is her relative!

Agree if they can get there on time
They keep for 7 days and if no owner they PTS i think.
Be truefull though and give them her contact detsils etc.

Never fear @apricotdogwill send you the money to pay for its kennels. Or not.

RTFT, or at least all the OP's posts, it is at the vets and they know the owner.

I hope she receives calls of a very shaming nature.
How OP can be accused to shirking any responsibility here is beyond me, unless you are a habitual dog-abandoner too.
Do you expect strangers to assume the care and expense of your pets?