Teen agrees to watch sister's guinea pigs, 'permanently' loses her trust. AITA?
Pet sitting is sometimes a stressful request, especially when the pets need special care.
One sister who wasn't a particular animal lover agreed to watch her 12-year-old sisters two guinea pigs while she is out of town. She didn't realize how much work it would actually be and how unprepared she actually was. Now, she is worried that she has permanently lost her trust.
AITA for telling my little sister it's really not my fault about what happened with her guinea pig?
I'm a (17f), and I have a younger sister named Dalila, who is 12. Dalila had two guinea pigs named Moshi and Yogi, and she got them a year ago. She has always been an animal lover and I think she took good care of them. But she had a huge ritual of things she thought they needed, that caused the issue in this story.
I want to say now that I am not at all an animal person except for dogs and cats. I know very little about taking care of them, as that has always been my sister's responsibility. Recently, Dalila had to go out of state for a week for a show-choir competition, and my mom and her boyfriend were busy. So, reluctantly, I agreed to take care of Moshi and Yogi.
Dalila left me a list of things to do for them. The next day, I had some issues. She wanted me to let them outside in a pen for an hour. It was a foldable one without a bottom, and had a cover for the top. I couldn't find the cover and called Dalila for help.
She was dismissive and told me she couldn't help atm and was busy. I asked again, but she told me to just keep a close eye on them. I tried to explain I really couldn't because I had an online class, but she hung up on me.
I thought the cover was probably to prevent the guinea pigs from escaping, so I left them in there and went inside to attend my online class, checking on them occasionally through the window. I do admit tho that it was longer than an hour because my online class ended up going long.
When I went to bring them back inside, I found Moshi lying on its side and acting weirdly (hot to the touch, and twitching), while Yogi seemed fine. I tried everything I could, but Moshi sadly didn't make it.
I informed my mom and decided not to tell Dalila until she returned home from the competition. We both agreed that it would be too stressful for her to hear the news during the competition (Dalila is really high strung, and would do poorly if we told her).
After her competition, I texted her about what had happened, but she ignored my message. When she got home, she started screaming and crying, calling me a dumbass and other insulting sh*t. I told her I had called her and asked what to do, but she didn't give me clear instructions.
She screamed that I knew she was busy, and should have waited. She basically said she's never trusting me again and that I'm a horrible sister, and I told her if anyone was horrible, it was her for choosing a literal guinea pig over her own sister and that it's not my fault. She cussed at me more and went to her room.
My mom sided with me, saying that Dalila needed to learn that owning an exotic animal comes with responsibility, and not many people know how to take care of them. However, her boyfriend took Dalila's side and even shouted at me, calling me a POS and that 'he didn't want me to talk to his daughter anymore'. I am pissed at him and not talking to him.
It has been a few days, and Dalila is still mad at me and ignoring me. I want to make things right, but I also feel that her anger towards me is unfair. AITA?
Here were the top responses from readers:
YTA. How hard would it have been to either look around for the cover of the pen, or not leave them out there unattended?
YTA. I am a long time volunteer at the house rabbit society, which takes in a LOT of guinea pigs. Moshi definitely either overheated in the sun, or was attacked by a predator.
You're 17 - basically an adult. You should have the presence of mind to realize that if you couldn't watch them, you should have left them inside. The cover serves a number of purposes like shade and predator safety.
You were explicitly told that they needed to be covered and supervised outside. You didn't have the cover, you weren't able to supervise them, and you put them outside anyway and hoped for the best.This was a bad move.
I would expect something like this is you were also 12, or certainly younger. But at 17, let this be a lesson that it's time to grow up and do some critical thinking without depending on your preteen sister to guide you.
I feel slightly badly for OP because I know she didn't mean to kill the guinea pig, but who leaves animals outside for the first time without checking on them? Even the slightest amount of thoughtfulness would have spared the animal's life.
You sound like a very selfish person. your mom too.
You know your sister is a CHILD. You're basically an adult, you should be able to figure out how to fix the issue you had. (google, call a vet, call petsmart, insta cart a plastic lid, the solutions are endless...)
Your sister is hurt because you didn't give af about the guinea pigs. It sounds like, if they were a dog or cat, you would have gone out of your way to figure the issue out. Now a living, breathing creature your sister loved with all her heart, is dead. and you're never going to be able to take that back.
You've created a stain on your relationship with your growing preteen sister. You've taught her that you don't reeeeeeally care about her (and her pets.) I wouldn't expect her to get over this. she will hold that pain forever in one way or another.
You're probably thinking 'it' only a guinea pig, wtf is this person's problem' and if you do, you're a terrrrrrible person and I hope you get therapy. Your poor sister....
NAH. She should have told you what the cover was for and that taking them out wasn’t required, just something that’s good for their mental health- but that if it wasn’t physically safe it’s not a big deal.
The problem is that you’re both teenagers and don’t know how to communicate. Honestly, of everyone here, I’m surprised your parents weren’t more hands on in teaching you what you needed to ask and her in how to teach someone to care for her animals.