'AITA for threatening to stop taking care of my friend's dog while she's in Europe?'
"AITA for threatening to stop taking care of my friend's dog while she's in Europe?"
So one of my closest friends left for Europe a month ago and I agreed to look after her dog when gone. It's a Belgium Malinois and a lot of work to take care of. It needs bite training, walks, specific food I have to prepare and occasionally bites/mouths furniture and other stuff around the house.
While on holiday, she has met a guy that she is obsessed in (I am really happy for her truthfully) but she has extended the holiday 2x so far. First for 10 days then another week. At the first extension, I was more than happy to look after the dog a little longer as she met the guy near the end of her trip and I wanted to give her the chance to build a connection with him.
The second time I told her that "her dog isn't my responsibility and that it's becoming a drain having to revolve my life around it" but after she begged me I agreed that one more week is fine.
However, yesterday she said that he was going to pay for them to go on a boat cruise before she leaves extending her trip an additional 5 days. At this point, I said that "I felt I was been taking advantage of, and that if she didn't come home, that I would take it to a dog keep at her expense".
At this point she lost it and said that a "good friend would be happy she was getting an all expense cruise paid for and that she wouldn't have a problem doing this for me." At this I was pretty shook, I have been taking care of her dog for nearly 6 weeks now, and really am happy for her. IDK am I the Ahole here...
Here's what people had to say to OP:
Altruistic-Apple4757 said:
NTA obviously. Just tell her that for each extra day that she keeps pushing, you charge x amount as interest rate. But to be honest, this dog deserves a better owner who cares for them and trains them. Malinois are a lot of work as you said!
TheSecretIsMarmite said:
Your friend is about to get herself into some serious trouble, and is either about to disappear off the face of the planet or be asked to carry something home in her suitcase and "some guy" he knows will pick the thing up from her when she gets home (or rather she'll be in a prison cell).
The dog here is the least of the problems, but yes, get the dog some proper care and chalk your friend up as a fool with the self preservation skills of a game bird that's seen a big bag of grain and ignored the guys with the shotguns next to it. NTA.
mahnamahna123 said:
Yeah this is insane. Tell her a good friend would compensate their friend for extending the dog sitting well past the original agreement. Honestly some people.
RefrigeratorRare4463 said:
NTA a "good friend" wouldn't leave a high needs dog with a friend for longer than the agreed upon time unless theres a real emergency. And if they did would understand that the care can become too much.
RefrigeratorRare4463 said:
NTA a "good friend" wouldn't leave a high needs dog with a friend for longer than the agreed upon time unless theres a real emergency. And if they did would understand that the care can become too much.
Useful-Comedian4312 said:
NTA. You’ve already done way more than most people would. Watching a Belgian Malinois is a lot of work, and doing it for nearly six weeks is a huge favor. You were understanding the first two times she extended her trip, which already shows you were trying to support her and give her time to enjoy meeting someone new.
At some point though, it stops being a favor and starts feeling like you’re being taken advantage of. It’s reasonable to set a boundary when your life has been revolving around someone else’s dog for over a month. Being happy for your friend doesn’t mean you have to keep sacrificing your time indefinitely, and asking her to come back or pay for a kennel is completely fair.