Help!
Seriously, guys, this is stressing me out. This is kind of long, bear with me. I'm going to try to be as objective as possible here.
Three months ago I responded to an ad on Craigslist. A woman (I'll call her Sara) who lives about 45 minutes from my house was moving to a new place in the same area and needed someone to watch her 5 Pygora goats for the summer, a free lease. I was considering getting some goats of my own, but wasn't sure if I wanted to, so it seemed like a perfect thing to do. We did not have a contract, which, in retrospect, was very stupid. I know.
Sara brought the goats over, and was very nice and seemed fine. Not crazy or anything. The goats were nice, all was well. When she dropped them off, she said she'd come by the next weekend and shear them and clip their hooves, but she didn't and I didn't hear from her again for several weeks. She never did come by to do those things, despite a few e-mails from me asking her to and offering to help.
Then, about 5 weeks ago, one of them died suddenly. We aren't sure exactly what happened, she went from fine to dead in about 18 hours. In the morning she had diarrhea and didn't eat, but looked basically OK, and having had plenty of animals get diarrhea at one time or another I didn't think much of it. I was out of the house all day that day, and in the evening I checked on her and she still looked sick, but she was under the chicken coop (where they like to hang out, nothing unusual) and I couldn't really examine her. I e-mailed Sara to see what she thought, and she recommended I intubate her, which I didn't have the equipment or knowlege to do and it was after 8pm. But I went and got my neighbor, who is a vet-tech and also has sheep, and she had stuff to tube her, so we ran back to my house, where the goat had already died. Obviously, I was dismayed. I've had tons of animals in my care over the years, and no healthy animal has ever suddenly died on me, especially someone else's pet. This was terrible. I told Sara what had happened, and go no response. I apologized profusely, and got no response. A week goes by, and I gently ask what her long term plans are for the remaining goats; no response. I ask again. And again.
I can see that she's on-line, she's posting to facebook, and her light on g-mail is green. Finally, three weeks after the death, I say that I need her to come get the goats if she isn't going to talk to me. I get an immediate response: she hasn't been ignoring me, silly! Just busy. Fine, I say, but what are your plans for the goats? At which point she writes me about 2000 words on why I should purchase them for $300 each. No, I say, as gently as possible. She keeps trying. Again and again. I'm trying really hard to be nice at this point, and simply say that I don't see it working, but to make this easier on her, I can deliver the goats to her home or wherever she wants them. She refuses to take them. (I don't know where she lives, or I'd do it anyway. )
Fine, I say, but they need to be out of my yard in 3 weeks, please let me know when you'll be getting them. No response. That's been two weeks, and every few days, I ask again when she plans on getting the goats and I get ignored. Finally, today I e-mailed and told her that if she doesn't come get her goats, I'm going to give them to a rescue organization. I get an immediate response that she simply doesn't have anywhere to put them, and that I'm being unreasonable.
GAHHH!
I seriously don't know what to do. I'm not getting a lawyer over goats, it'd be cheaper to just buy the darn goats.
Advice? This is making me crazy.
Seriously, guys, this is stressing me out. This is kind of long, bear with me. I'm going to try to be as objective as possible here.
Three months ago I responded to an ad on Craigslist. A woman (I'll call her Sara) who lives about 45 minutes from my house was moving to a new place in the same area and needed someone to watch her 5 Pygora goats for the summer, a free lease. I was considering getting some goats of my own, but wasn't sure if I wanted to, so it seemed like a perfect thing to do. We did not have a contract, which, in retrospect, was very stupid. I know.
Sara brought the goats over, and was very nice and seemed fine. Not crazy or anything. The goats were nice, all was well. When she dropped them off, she said she'd come by the next weekend and shear them and clip their hooves, but she didn't and I didn't hear from her again for several weeks. She never did come by to do those things, despite a few e-mails from me asking her to and offering to help.
Then, about 5 weeks ago, one of them died suddenly. We aren't sure exactly what happened, she went from fine to dead in about 18 hours. In the morning she had diarrhea and didn't eat, but looked basically OK, and having had plenty of animals get diarrhea at one time or another I didn't think much of it. I was out of the house all day that day, and in the evening I checked on her and she still looked sick, but she was under the chicken coop (where they like to hang out, nothing unusual) and I couldn't really examine her. I e-mailed Sara to see what she thought, and she recommended I intubate her, which I didn't have the equipment or knowlege to do and it was after 8pm. But I went and got my neighbor, who is a vet-tech and also has sheep, and she had stuff to tube her, so we ran back to my house, where the goat had already died. Obviously, I was dismayed. I've had tons of animals in my care over the years, and no healthy animal has ever suddenly died on me, especially someone else's pet. This was terrible. I told Sara what had happened, and go no response. I apologized profusely, and got no response. A week goes by, and I gently ask what her long term plans are for the remaining goats; no response. I ask again. And again.
I can see that she's on-line, she's posting to facebook, and her light on g-mail is green. Finally, three weeks after the death, I say that I need her to come get the goats if she isn't going to talk to me. I get an immediate response: she hasn't been ignoring me, silly! Just busy. Fine, I say, but what are your plans for the goats? At which point she writes me about 2000 words on why I should purchase them for $300 each. No, I say, as gently as possible. She keeps trying. Again and again. I'm trying really hard to be nice at this point, and simply say that I don't see it working, but to make this easier on her, I can deliver the goats to her home or wherever she wants them. She refuses to take them. (I don't know where she lives, or I'd do it anyway. )
Fine, I say, but they need to be out of my yard in 3 weeks, please let me know when you'll be getting them. No response. That's been two weeks, and every few days, I ask again when she plans on getting the goats and I get ignored. Finally, today I e-mailed and told her that if she doesn't come get her goats, I'm going to give them to a rescue organization. I get an immediate response that she simply doesn't have anywhere to put them, and that I'm being unreasonable.
GAHHH!
I seriously don't know what to do. I'm not getting a lawyer over goats, it'd be cheaper to just buy the darn goats.
Advice? This is making me crazy.
