How to deal with diplomatically?

Gettingtherequickly

Have never posted on this forum, so hoping to get some advice


A relative and hubs went on a months holiday leaving behind elderly dog and young cat who adore each other. There was someone staying there but a, shall we say eccentric, friend was also going to nip in during the day to take the dog for a walk.

There was plenty of food for the animals, who are not really fussy eaters, but they are not particularly fond of animal wet foods and leave a mess if they can't get out quickly enough. The house sitter works in a restaurant, so took home meat scraps for them which the animals loved and it was everything in moderation.

Anyway the friend decided that the animals were not being fed properly and not getting enough nutrients so took it upon herself buy chicken, wet animal food packs, 6 new stainless steel bowls (because she felt the plastic ones were not hygenic enough, why the need for 6 :eek:) and then presented a bill for over £150!

The worst part is that she did not nor has ever raised her concerns before with them and did not do it on this occasion. In fact the first they were aware of it was when they received a phone call from their daughter saying she had received a letter from the friend who was confused about it all and didn't know what to do, so sent it to mum & dad.

Now, they want her to know that they know she has written the letter and want to deal with it, but how?

emslovesmickey

Not sure about the diplomacy of it but the fact is, the friend took it upon herself to presume the animals weren't getting the nutrients they needed. The owners did not ask, nor were they informed of the expenses, and i'm pretty sure if they had been informed in advance they would have told her there was no need.

Gettingtherequickly

Glad I'm not the one having to deal with it! The animals are healthy, but I think the friend feels that there should be food in the bowls at all times which would probably result in the animals overeating rather than the pretty balanced diet they have at the moment.

Oh well, think it may be a temporary end to the friendship, they have known each other for years, so it will only be a blip.

Froglet

What a cheek! i would send the bill back promptly!

Just cos we can get at food all day long we know what would happen if we did! What a ridiculous way of thinking.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Diplomatically?

No. I did not give you the OK to change my animals' diets and I will not be paying for it.



My actual likely reaction?

:ROTFL:

You can f--- right off!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

i would reply to them with.

thank you for raising your opinion on how you think my animals are mis treated with not enough food, but as i have followed my vets advice regarding their food due to food sensitivity and diet i do not think this is the case.

as per your bill i reject to pay, because, NO prior discussion or concerns raised with us (the owners of the animals), there are/were sufficient enough bowls for the animals to eat and drink out of, i will stress that by changing their diet and eating habbits could cause the animals harm, and a considerable mess on my carpet wich could be damaged by your actions, i sincerely hope you DO NOT change the animals dietry needs, and that there is no damaged caused by fouling on my carpets due to the animals having an upset tummy due to sudden change in their diertry needs they cannot cope with.

i will assess the situation when i get home but untill then i stress that you do not take any action in changing their diets and keep to the diet as per before.

if there is any damage to my carpets as a result of your actions i will seek costs of new carpet, gripper, underlay, metals and fitting, the cost of vet check up to ensure the animals are not in any medical danger and also any medical treatment there after plus time off work plus fuel costs for transporting the animals to the vets.

as you can see this maybe a costly decision you have made, i hope you kept your reciepts for the uneeded bowls as you will be taking them away from my property, or i will be keeping them free of charge if you have disposed of the original bowls.

southcoastrgi

thanks for the bowls but i don't need them so please have them back & i don't want my animals fed chicken or wet food so here's your bill back & !!!! off

Sooetie

I once fed my friends dog for a week and mistakenly bought tins of dog food as I thought the dog only had crunchies left.
My friend enjoyed taking the P out of me at the local pub for several months because his dog put onweight lol. All good hearted and we didn't fall out about it

But.....

Probably the animal owners should leave exact instructions

UsernameAlreadyExists

Diplomacy is out of the window on this one.
It's one thing to take things into your own hands and buy the food and bowls ... but then presenting a bill for it ? That takes the biscuit.
The person presenting the bill had some balls to do so ... so that being the case, they should be able to deal with being told "no way" in no uncertain terms.
I can't see this person being asked to pet sit in the future.

VoucherMan

Sooetie wrote: »

Probably the animal owners should leave exact instructions

They quite probably did. But only with the person in charge of feeding the pets, not the dog walker.

If you hired a cleaner & a cook would you tell the cleaner what you wanted for dinner?

Pollycat

I think this friend has way over-stepped the mark.

I would be bloody furious if I'd asked someone to stay with my dog & cat, given them instructions on feeding and someone else butted in and spent £150 :eek: on stuff that wasn't needed.

However, I wouldn't have been that pleased with the house sitter either if she was feeding meat from a restaurant instead of the proper food I'd left.

Maybe your relative should consider kennels & cattery next time they go away....