Just disgusted and sad....

[miss_jayne]

my children, 14, 10 & 9 respectively, do a better job caring for animals than many adults, sadly.

maybe it is because adults reason to themselves that 'they're JUST animals' or something. or, maybe kids just get a kick out of it and fun is easier than work?

anymahoo...i am still sorry for you!

 

[maplesky7]

**I apologize for the length....sort of...ha ha.

Well,
Something similar just happened to me this past weekend during my sides family gathering. I got my teenage (14) year old neighbor girl to come over and take care of my animals/pets.

3x she came over the week before so I could walk her through the routine. I also wrote a detailed note and contact numbers if anything should happen.

We left fri. at llam and were to return mon. around 4-5 pm. I called her on sat. afternoon to check in.

Everything was fine. A rooster did escape but she was able to get it back into the coop. My 7 yr. old dd's cat escaped 2x--she was able to catch him.

Sun. evening when I returned to the cabin my mother gave me the news that dd's cat escaped again and this time he was out over 24 hours. It was time to put my girls to bed and call it a night and we were to have another half day at the indoor water park.

But when I found out, I began packing and we drove my mom, so she had to leave too with us...kid of upsetting my out of town sisters but they are cat people so they did understand to a degree. We made it home by midnight. The girls falling asleep in the van.

Within 5 min. of arriving home I had found him. Thank God.

But during the ride home my mom and I talked about things. At 14 years old, although capable, she still didn't have all of the problem solving skills to make the wisest decisions.

She told my mom at one point that the cat had ran under the garage door. My mom said, well, then did you shut it? Meaning she could have trapped him and at least he would be safe.

Her response was...then how would the outside cats get their food? My mom answered...you'd put their dish on the outside of the garage.

The water dishes for the inside animals and the chickens waterer were nearly empty. Not what I was expecting but not bone dry.

At one point on Sat. she told me that my mom's little dog had not been out at all since she'd been watching them-- so that was what? 26 hours since she'd been to the bathroom?

She said she yelped when she tried to pick her up. I said she always yelps when you pick her up. Pick her up anyway...take her outside...after my girl dog goes...put her on top of it and she'll go. And do it RIGHT now or she'll go in my house if she hasn't already. (and my mom's dog is such a mama's dog it's pitiful...she was probably depressed that grandma left her...again...and confused it wasn't me watching her.)

Funny thing is...neighbor girl has the same kind of little dog, shiatzu mix who yelps when you try to pick him up if you accidently pull his underarm hairs/skin...and we've talked about it before.

So as you can see...besides the goldfish that died-which wasn't her fault, he was swimming funny when we left...everyone was essentially ok.

We did cut our vacation short by 17 hours half of those hours we'd be sleeping. But regardless...I was really fearful for my 7 year olds cat and hoping he didn't get squashed by a car, drink anti-freeze or some such, or get it by a coyote or just run off and never be found. I dreaded what I was going to tell her had I not found him.

As mom and I traveled home, we had talked about what we should pay her. See over a decade ago when I hired an official pet sitter, the going rate was $9 each time she came to my home.

If we rounded up and said $10 and I told the neighbor girl to come 2x on fri. and 4x on sat. and sun. and 2x on mon. that would be $120--which seems like a lot for a teenager and a weekend getaway no matter what...but this is better than kenneling the dogs, we decided.

So we decided to think about $25 a day which would be essentially $75. The next day she came over and I had a chance to sit down and talk to her.

I know the cat can even get passed me and I'm ready for him, he's that persistant.

My coop isn't set up where you get in easily and do the feeding...without 20 chickens just waiting to get out and free range. Though I told her only to let them in the chicken yard...we live too near other neighbors and I don't like letting them out unless I'm home in case they should wander off. But if one or two got out, don't sweat it...they'll be back to the coop wanting in by dusk.

So as we sat and talked we went over the events of the weekend and how if there was a "next" time, how she could a or b. and that would be easier and things like the rooster running by her or the cat wouldn't be able to happen.

I, at first, was very upset but had a night to sleep on it, pray on it and instead of telling her you failed at your duties...I saw, she had actually done a fairly decent job. She stayed and played with my dogs. She sat and pet my cats. Her little brother helped her chase the rooster and they did good coraling him back in...it was team work...

I told her to keep the water dishes filled to the top. I told her how to manuever into and out of the coop and house to prevent runaways...

and essentially, I'm happy the way it all turned out and I've maintained the good relationship with the neighbors.

I liked the fact we didn't tell her how much money she was recieving before we left because I had reconsidered all things and thought $75 was appropriate. So she's happy, I'm happy. And life is back to normal.


Thanks for listening.

me,
g

 

[MagsC]

My daughter also, would take the job more seriously than it seems this guy did.

I couldnt imagine being entrusted to something like that and not making absolutely sure everything was ship shape. Especially with specific directions on what was expected.

 

[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.

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!

well actually that is the point, the animals are hers to care for in the end,one thing people will do 90% of the time is NOT show up and do the chores until you are on the way home,they know nobody is there to watch them so they do it whenever and however they want to,even at your day to day jobs how many people do you know that sluff off until things come down to the wire,then make it all pretty and looking good so the boss thinks they are doing their job,its just human nature for alot of people to think and act that way,I said I wasnt defending the guy,just trying to help her see that they probably can be left home alone for a few days and they probably will be ok,most times better off then when you hire someone to come and do chores..

 

[saranbensmom]

I agree with ninnyl ... if he is still living with his parents and you are pretty close to them, I would talk to them about it. It may be that he made other plans and got someone else to do it. It may be he has some issues going on of which his folks need to be aware. They should know if this is typical behavior for him or if something is wrong. If he were my son, I would appreciate being in on it and I think it would help to alleviate tension in your relationship. This could be why his other chickens died, leaving the roo alone.

I am so sorry - big hugs to ya!

 

[needmorechickens!]

He doesn't deserve to be paid, but I have to say I would pay him a little to keep my neighbors from blowing up.
I would let him know that I noticed the things you mentioned.
I would not allow him to watch them again.
~Rebecca

 

[Cetawin]

I would chose one of two options...

1. pay him nothing as he did not do what was agreed upon for payment; or

2. offer partial payment and explain why the other portion is not being paid, includng the loss of a clutch.

Sad and I am sorry this happened to you.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Initially I thought that no payment was the right choice. After reading the threads, I think it's time to sit down with this young man - and NOT his parents - to discuss this. You may want to warn the parents in advance so that they get your side of the story BEFORE they get his.

He did not fulfill the "contract" you had agreed upon when you left town: to earn X amount, he would perform Y duties.

Think about what you would have paid him had he done the job satisfactorily. $25/day? Then figure out what percentage of work he did not perform and reduce his pay that amount. Be honest with him and allow him the opportunity to tell his side. Ask him what he would do given reversed situations: what would he pay someone who had not performed their responsibilities as agreed?

Be fair, open, and forthright. It's more than he might get from an employer should he shirk his duties.

 

[skyfires]

I'm so sorry Chickmania. Nothing is worst than placing our trust, with our precious animals with someone who doesn't show any regard for them. You think you know someone, then you find out you really don't. This is tuff stuff. The fact you have to pay him something to keep the peace is a hard one. If it was me, I would have to do something. I think I would write down all the stuff he missed doing. Detail this list for him. Then tell him of your loss of eggs, and the cost. Along with the suffering all your pets went through. Bad enough your babies missed you, only to be treated the way they were while you were gone. This is a sad business all around. What you will pay is up to you. But remember, the animals paid the most price here. Luckly not with their lives. So try to work though the hard feelings, wish the kid ( He isn't a 'man') the best, and never let him near your place again. Ok,,,Tina you have beat this guy long enough,,,,take good care,, I'll be thinking about you today,,,,

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I've been in a somewhat similar situation. We went to Hawaii for 11 days, we hired a 20 y/o guy that my husband really trusted to housesit and petsit for us, he was also from our church. When we came back the litter boxes (had two at the time) at not been scooped of urine clumps for the entire 11 days. He scooped the poop but not the urine. I was furious to come into a house that we had left very clean and have it smelling like amonia. One of my first reactions was to wonder what else he had done or not done that we had instructed him to do or not to do.

A few days later, and still fuming (no pun intended) about the litter boxes, I went to have a glass of wine to find one of our very nice crystal pieces cracked badly. Was not like that when we left.

How did I deal with it...well we paid him, but I told my husband that we would not ever hire him again. Cut our loss of the crystal and decided it was not worth ruffling the feathers at church about it.

I'm sorry for the losses of your chicks. Hopefully you will figure out how to deal with him in a way that does not damage the realtionship with his family.