Just disgusted and sad....

[silkiechicken]

That sucks, but if you need your neighbors to do large things for you such as maintain a field or such... I'd be inclined to just pay the kid a little bit, perhaps a bit less than you had intended, include a note about what happened and perhaps ask what happened. Maybe he had to work late and he got there as best as he could which might have been later than ideal, or maybe he had to come by before work so things were empty before you got home? Maybe he forgot how to set the alarm if there weren't written instructions and he didn't want to mess it up? Legally an adult or not, he needs to know what happened, but you don't want to get on bad terms with all your neighbors if they are close with the rest of the community. I'd just never use them again. If you want something done right, you usually have to do it yourself.

 

[ams3651]

I wouldnt pay him, but if you feel you should give him something , give him half. And definitely tell him why, he owes you for the chicks at the very least. Not to mention your home could have been broken in to if he didnt set the alarm.

 

[chicknmania]

I'm thinking about partial pay...a polite note is a good idea, maybe. There's no way we could leave the chickens alone, because if no one closed their barn at night, we'd come back to a mess, plus a few lost chickens; doesn't take the critters long to figure out where there's food, and the coons will go right up in the rafters after the roosting chickens, if they can get in. Our cats and gpigs would eat all their food first day. Oh, also, he didn't open the garage door so the gpigs could get any fresh air...I mean, my son would never do that, and he's 21, too....on top of everything else we gave the kid $50.00 for a graduation present...come to think of it, I guess he's not 21 yet, but 19, anyway.

 

[chicknmania]

oh, and yes, we left detailed written instructions.

 

[MagsC]

That would disappoint me as well.

Too bad he's your neighbor. I know many people would disagree with me, but I would pay him then never have him look after your place again. Or if you can find a way to resolve it otherwise without alienating the neighbors which is often a trapeze act!

 

[Easter_pink_silkies]

I am So, SO sorry for your loss. things should'nt have happend that way.

Like i was trying to say before interrupted,

I LOVE animals, and what he did to yours was cruel, inhumane and just not right, No matter who you are or how old you are.--and that has nothing to do with animals rights-Just commen sense. :|

 

[Anny]

Normally to best thing to do with pet sitting is to set a price Before you leave. You can always adjust it when you return. And never pay until your return. But since it's to late for that I think you should at least sit him down and explain to him how disapointed you are in the way your home and animals where cared for.

You should explain in detail the things you found. And why they were WRONG.

Normally for pet sitting around her it's $10-$20 a day but given the fact your animals where left with out water I would pay him less. It's up to you how much though.

He is 21 he should know better. He is an Adult and need to act like one.

 

[lorieMN]

Quote:
so why cant you leave them in the barn for the weekend?..unless it gets 100 degrees in there,there is no reason they need to be out if you are not home..I'm not defending the guy in any way,but just trying to understand why they cannot be left alone for a couple days,and not just you I am asking everybody,I leave mine home for the weekends freerangeing and have never had a problem,not to say it wont happen,but that is just life,I dont want to worry about some idiot forgetting to shut the house door all the way and my cats getting out,or the gate and the horses,or the kennel and the dogs,I can't depend on other people to do things the way I expect them to be done therefor I dont ask anyone to do it for me.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
so why cant you leave them in the barn for the weekend?..unless it gets 100 degrees in there,there is no reason they need to be out if you are not home..I'm not defending the guy in any way,but just trying to understand why they cannot be left alone for a couple days,and not just you I am asking everybody,I leave mine home for the weekends freerangeing and have never had a problem,not to say it wont happen,but that is just life,I dont want to worry about some idiot forgetting to shut the house door all the way and my cats getting out,or the gate and the horses,or the kennel and the dogs,I can't depend on other people to do things the way I expect them to be done therefor I dont ask anyone to do it for me.

that isn't the point, the point is that it was arranged to have care given. it's not that she couldn't do that, she wanted to have them cared for and was going to pay for it.

we all have tough choices to make when it comes to animal husbandry and unfortunately, people are not perfect.

maybe i should start a chicken boarding house!

 

[JayBird+16]

Last year we took a short vacation and had a “friend” watch our menagerie. When we came home we found out he hadn’t given our parrots fresh water and had over-fed our dogs to the point where they got sick. He also had a few of his friends over and proceeded to drink and few bottles of liquor and a very expensive bottle of wine we had been saving. We had previously agreed to pay him $15 per day. Afterwards I politely let him know that I had noticed a few things amiss and that I would not be able to pay him as previously agreed on. He apologized, said to call him the next time we went away and he wouldn’t charge us.

I now have my neighbors 10 year old watch our pets – isn’t it sad that she’s more responsible than a 35 year old?