Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay for the iPad my dog broke?

Sasha070

When your neighbour agreed to look after your dog they accepted the responsibility to care for it. Where they negligent in leaving the i-pad lying around - maybe. Where they negligent in leaving a fork on the floor for your dog to stand on - in my opinion, yes. Do you want to stay on good terms with your neighbour. I hope so. Suck it up and pay for the damage. In future leave the dog with a professional or at least someone with experience in looking after dogs.

sheramber

Do you want o maintain good relations with your neighbour? If you do then come to an agreement with them over who pays?

happyinflorida

What age are your neighbours?

Are they young or elderly?

Do they have other responsibilities - such as young children? Or elderly relatives to also look after?

How busy are they?

Did you ask them to look after your dog or did they offer to?

Were they paid for looking after your dog?

Did you give them a gift for looking after your dog?

Do you want to maintain a good relationship with your neighbours?

All of these need answering before I can give a good answer!

Petnurse

Do you have pet insurance? If so, you may be able to claim under the third party liability part of your cover. There will be an excess to pay though. Might be cheaper to pay for repair/new screen?

Cimscate

Quite difficult as no-one wants to fall out with their neighbours. I don't think you can reasonably ask them to pay the vet bill as it is your dog; however they seem rather careless leaving Ipads and forks around where the dog can get to them.


If it was me and I'd left the Ipad around I don't think I'd even mention it as would see it as my fault but if they are asking for you to pay the bill then do it for the sake of neighbourliness.


Next time put the dog in kennels where they WILL be responsible for damage or injuries as you are paying them to look after the dog in a professional capacity.

horsendoggirl

for all those saying there is no mention of vets fees I can categorically tell you that if you visit a vet there WILL be fees even if no treatment is given !!!

gaving7095

Whilst it's not your fault (or arguably even the dog's) that the iPad got damaged I think the "right" thing to do would be for you to pay for the repair, so as this forum covers people's opinions on morality, there's your answer from me :-)

Regarding the fork incident, that's just your bad luck IMO. Arguably the fault of careless "pet sitters" (backed up by poor iPad placement), as it is also, arguably, the fault of a clumsy dog.
Isn't your dog insured? You seem to care for its wellbeing so I would get it insured if I were you. You'll also be liable if it (for example) escapes & damages property so get insurance which would also cover that.

If the pet sitters were kind-hearted they would offer to pay the vet bill but the question as raised regards YOUR morality, not theirs.
In point of fact they did an exceptionally poor job & should pay out of shame alone, also not ask for the iPad repair bill but hey-ho not everybody shares the same moral values do they?!
Probably best to learn from it & just put the dog in kennels next time. None of this would have happened and, if it did, none of it would be for you to pay for.

Grabs39

Pay for the screen to be repaired. It was your dog, so it's your fault. The neighbour saved potentially hundreds in home boarding (we pay about £25 a day for home boarding) so it's only fair that you fix anything your dog broke (it would be different if you were paying a dog sitter to look after the dog).

Also will insurance cover it? You have to pay the excess, but our pet insurance covers damage to 3rd parties property, or their home insurance might cover accidental damage?

RedMonty

I really want to know - out of the people offering advice on this thread - who is a pet owner? I would disregard the advice from non-pet owners.

As a pet owner myself (unwillingly - my kids and other half wanted cats, I didn't), I strongly advise at the very least offering to pay 100% for both bills - the iPad and the vet. (You can try researching cheap but reliable places for ipad repair.) If the neighbour offers to split the ipad bill, that's great but don't expect it.

When you take on owning a pet, you become responsible for it. Breaking stuff is a part of pet ownership. If you had a toddler and it broke your friend's iPad, it's your responsibility to offer to pay. Vet bills are also your responsibility and come with pet ownershop. You could have chosen to take out vet insurance, but didn't, presumably to save on the monthly fees. Time to dip into your pocket and pay out on your gamble of not taking out vet insurance.

The neighbour did you a huge favour of looking after your dog and shouldn't be out of pocket. Think ahead - if you cover costs this time, they have learned lessons, and might be willing to look after your dog again in future. If they do this two or three times a year, then you will come out way, way ahead on kennel fees.