<p>In all fairness, snowball, you probably should have just said “no foods beyond this specific dog food that I am providing.” You might have left the barn door open with the “fruits and vegetables ok as a treat” thing.</p>
<p>I say pay he if you can afford to do so, and tell her you will not be using her again and why. This will not be a comfortable conversation, but she may care better for others’ pets as a result.</p>
<p>We boarded a young female who had just gone into heat. We had used this kennel for other dogs for years. We loved them. We talked to the owner about the unexpected heat and was reassured that it was no problem and that every precaution would be taken. Long story short: our dog was impregnated while at the kennel. (We live in town and the dog had only been out on a leash. If she had mated while on the leash, I think I would have noticed!) When I called to talk to her, the owner denied that it was possible that this could have happened, but I know that she couldn’t have been there at all times. For me, that meant I would no longer use her services. If she had taken mature responsibility and investigated, I might have continued to be a client.</p>
<p>Snowball -</p>
<p>I think before you do anything, you have to decide whether there is any chance that you will use this woman again. Thinking you will find someone else is not enough. You have to know with certainty whether you will use her again, either as a first choice or in a pinch. </p>
<p>If you are SURE you will not be using her, only then I would call or write and tell her you will not be paying the full amount because she did not follow instructions. </p>
<p>If there is any chance that you will use her again, then call her and tell her you need to meet in person to discuss this stay. The money becomes secondary. You need reassurance that she acknowledges what she did caused your pet to suffer. If she is like Mafool’s person - then there is no way you can let your dog with her again. </p>
<p>If you are reassured that she understands the gravity if her actions, and would never put your dog in danger, and you think you will continue to use her -then pay her and let go of it.</p>
<p>Update- I found another woman that will do my boarding, not that I have anything planned in the near future. We still have not dealt with the bill from the original woman; it is just sitting here on my desk. That said, she also has not contacted me; I think we are both leery about contacting the other. I know it is wrong to just ignore it, but that is what we have done for the time being. </p>
<p>What I want to do is write her an email explaining why we feel like we shouldn’t have to pay her. There is a small part of me that is afraid she would take us to small claims court, although she might be worried we will do the same. There was actually a similar case on one of the tv Judge shows that my mother saw, and the Judge sided with the dog owner. Not that I expect that would definitely happen that way for us, but I really believe we would have a good case. I just don’t want to go that route as I think this woman truly believe what she was feeding my dog was a healthy and great idea.</p>
<p>So for right now we are just ignoring the bill. We will play the waiting game and see which one of us caves first and contacts the other.</p>
<p>I have no words - NONE - for an experienced pet owner, not to mention vet tech… who would feed any dog all of that “treat” food. To any dog, not to mention a dog with specific food requirements/allergies. </p>
<p>Yogurt? Raw carrots? Spinach? Scrambled eggs? Instead of feeding the particular food you left, and only that food??!?</p>
<p>I would never use that person again to care for my pet.</p>
<p>And I would not pay.</p>
<p>If the woman mentions the bill again, I’d send her an e-mail explaining your view of the situation. I have the feeling you will not hear from her again, as she has realized how much harm she has caused.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking about the facts that
a. you received a bill
b. you have not paid
c. she has not contacted you about it</p>
<p>I that think one of two things is going on
- she sent the bill on an “it won’t hurt to ask” basis
- by not sending a bill she could be, implicitly, admitting responsibility.</p>
<p>So, if you are absolutely positive you do not need her again, it is your choice whether you pay her or not.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is what I was about to write! Sounds like she was negligent and endangered your pet. I wouldn’t pay her and would justify it (to myself, if no one else) because she did not deliver the services for which you would be paying her–she did not take great care of your dog this time (even if she had in the past), and in fact, did the complete opposite…landing your dog in the ER and you with a sizeable vet bill that could have easily been avoided had she followed your directions. </p>
<p>If it was a family friend, a neighbor kid, or caused by a one-time mess up…different story. But a professional pet sitter disregarding your clear instructions continually? Quite frankly, I’m shocked she’s still in business, and worried about what happens to the other dogs she cares for. </p>
<p>Glad you found another person to watch your dog in the future!</p>
<p>I agree. I think she is getting off easy considering the vet bill you incurred. If it did go to small claims court, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were awarded reimbursement for that, as well.</p>
<p>I feel better reading everyone’s replies; just validates that most think we are doing the right thing by not paying the bill. I know in my heart that the woman doesn’t deserve to be paid; but there is a little nagging feeling that she is owed for her services, as she did keep the dog for 8 days. As far as I know, if my dogs colitis hadn’t acted up, all would have been fine. That said, I am out $1100 due to her negligence; I need to keep reminding myself of that!</p>
<p>jmmom-she did not just feed the eggs, spinach, carrots and yogurt; the 4 food were added to my dogs regular food. So not only were new foods introduced to her diet, she was over fed. I have her meals down to a science, where I feed her less if she has had extra treats (treats I also sent to the dogsitter.)</p>
<p>Yes, I realized those were additions to what you provided.</p>
<p>Don’t feel she is owed for her services. Yes… she kept your dog for 8 days and during that time she: acted in opposition to your instructions; ignored what you told her re food sensitivities; caused the dog to be quite ill; caused you to run up an $1100 vet bill.</p>
<p>What galls me is that she acted in a way that most of us who are long term pet owners know is inappropriate. You do not fool with a pet’s customary diet. End of story. Even a healthy pet can have GI distress with an unfamiliar diet - whether overly rich or whatever. I learned that a long time ago. She should know better if she is in the business.</p>
<p>IMO she has nerve if she expects to be paid. She probably pretty much doesn’t, given th manner in which she slipped the bill to you.</p>
<p>Well, I just received an email from the original dog sitter, so I have to deal with her. Interesting email below:</p>
<p>“I hope P has continued to heal and is now back to her happy and healthy self!<br>
I’m so embarrassed to ask you to please check to see if you paid me for P’s visit. The invoice was for $428. I only charged you for the time she was with me, and I did not charge for any transportation. I am an awful book keeper, and you probably paid me, and I did not record it. I’m sorry for the trouble, but if you could please check, I would be grateful. Thank you so much!!”</p>
<p>I really was hoping she wouldn’t contact me and would just figure if she got money out of me she would be happy. Now I have to figure out what to say to her and how to handle it. I can no longer ignore her now that she has emailed me.</p>
<p>I will have to settle down a bit before I send anything to her as I might be a bit gruff otherwise!!</p>
<p>I have a dog with life-threatening allergies and irritable bowel disease. I have ONE dog sitter I trust (besides my husband, that is). I think the dog sitter you describe is an idiot. BUT I also think you have to deal with her directly or she will a) badmouth you to other people, and b) potentially hurt someone else’s dog.</p>
<p>In your place, I would review the written directions you gave her. Is there any room for misinterpretation? If so, you should pay her. It doesn’t sound like that’s the case, however, so I think you should call her, make an appointment, take the instructions with you, and ask her if she misunderstood them. If she says “no”, ask her why she gave those foods to your dog. If she tries to justify it, ask again. At some point, she should admit she was wrong. At that point, you tell her you’re not planning to pay her, because she didn’t follow your instructions.</p>
<p>Send her a copy of the vet bill with a note reminding her that it was HER diet that caused the problem, according to the vet, and that she should consider helping pay some of the vet bill.</p>
<p>If you have a copy, in writing, of what you told her the dog could and could not eat, and if she fed the dogs food from the DO NOT FEED list, I would do the following: I would copy the written communication you gave her along with a copy the vet bill. I would remind her that you left explicit directions in writing about what the dog could not eat. I would explain that the doctor agreed that the dog cannot eat those items and they lead to the dog’s illness. And I would explain why you are not paying the bill. You could mention that you are forgoing legal consultation regarding going after payment for the entire vet bill, rather you will put her fee toward those expenses and leave it at that. You might reiterate that she put your dog’s life in danger.</p>
<p>If you did not provide this in writing, if there is any wiggle room, then pay the bill. BUT I would put in writing that you were slow to pay the bill because you had such a large vet bill, caused entirely by her not following directions, and that you recommend that she not put another dog’s life in jeopardy in the future. </p>
<p>I CANNOT IMAGINE THAT YOU WOULD EVER TRUST USING HER AGAIN.</p>
<p>I have had a dog with pancreatitis. It is not fun. And you left explicit instructions about your dog’s diet which she chose to ignore. </p>
<p>I can imagine why she is a <em>former</em> vet tech if she cannot follow instructions. I would NEVER use her again.</p>
<p>I would tell her that under the circumstances, due to her failure to follow instructions which resulted in a vet bill nearly three times the boarding bill, that you will be applying the boarding payment to the vet bill.</p>
<p>Wow, snowball. Wow.</p>
<p>Is she really that clueless? </p>
<p>Yes, send her a copy of the vet bill and tell her you have decided, for now, not to charge her for the full cost of the life-threatening illness that resulted from her disregard of your instructions.</p>
<p>I’ll bet she added the food on the first stay, but since it was a shorter stay, nothing happened so she thought it was okay. I have found that many people own dogs with iron stomachs, even though it is common practice never to change a dog’s diet abruptly. She might even believe that the things she added would help the dog’s stomach. Those are some of the things that you will find recommended for dogs with sensitive stomachs. </p>
<p>Still, that decision was not hers to make. </p>
<p>The problem is that there is no way to prove the added foods caused the flare up. The dog could have gotten something from the yard - although that would be her responsibility too. Stress can cause Intestinal Bowel Syndrome, with similar symptoms so just being in a different environment for that long could have contributed.</p>
<p>My written instruction sheet unfortunately does have some wiggle room. While I did update the instructions recently as P hasn’t had a flair up in almost 2 years, I did tell the sitter about her colitis and other habits. The printed sheet I have used for 5 years with the previous sitter as well as my parents. I intend it as more of a reminder after we had discussed the dogs needs. On the instruction sheet I have information on any medication due during the boarding time, new habits or issues, my phone number as well as emergency contacts, and my location.</p>
<p>This is the info I had concerning additional foods other than her kibble: While P has some food allergies, she usually is fine with a small amount of any table foods. She loves fruits and veggies as treats as well as ice! I also sent her treats and usually break them in half.</p>
<p>If I were a judge, I could see where this phrase does not say NOT to feed the dog other foods. If we went to court it would be a matter of which person could make a better case. I intentionally only put this one phrase here so that you could see how someone could interpret that it was fine to feed other foods. That said, I didn’t say add food twice a day for 8 days to her meals; I said a treat. In my mind, a treat is a piece of something; at least in our house that is what we call a treat. A meal is in their food bowl and we call that breakfast and dinner!!</p>
<p>I understand you do not know exactly what I told the sitter, but given the above line from my instructions, do you think I should still expect not to pay the bill?</p>
<p>I am afraid you will need to pay her. Sorry snowball. You wrote that “she is usually fine with a small amount of ANY table food, and that she loves fruits and vegetables…” I think she took that and ran. So sorry. The interpretation of “small amount” and “as treats” is not too clear. She sounds like a teenage babysitter who went out of her way to make her charge happy, but in the process made the dog sick. </p>
<p>Can I tell you we used to have a dwarf rabbit named snowball?</p>