Pet Sitter Woes! Dead birds!

[WingingIt]

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Me, too! A friend once had me pet sit their iguanas, fish and parrot (which had been sick recently). I was a nervous wreck the whole time! One fish did die but thankfully it wasn't some big, expensive thing and I offered to replace it but they said no. I was SO glad when they got home!

I'm really curious to hear the update on this.

 

[DragonEggs]

I was dating and living with this guy whos grandparents lived next door. We went out of town for 3 days and asked him to feed my fish. When we came home he had MAJORLY overfed the fish so much that the filter and the whole top of the tank was full of food. Apparently this happened on the first or second day because the tank had been sitting there with no running filter and rotting fish for at least a day and it STANK THE WHOLE HOUSE up! I can't believe he just left it there to rot and stink up the whole house!

You just can't teach common sense....

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I asked my sister to sit my cats when I was away. I had closed all of the bedroom doors so the cat would not take its revenge on my bed. Not only did she neglect the cats - at some point - she got curious about my bedroom and went in. She carefully shut the door when she left locking the cat into the room for 4 days!!!!

The cat nearly died, cost me hundreds in vet bills and my bed and furnishings were destroyed. This was an adult who had kids of her own. You cannot teach common sense. Needless to say I don't ask her to sit my dog, my chickens and certainly not my kids.

Give us an update!!!

 

[Brindlebtch]

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A pet sitter in our neighborhood lost an affen pinscher while the owners were on vacation. I found him hit in the road. And wrapped up the little stiff body and took it to her. I don't know what happened after that.

 

[bella1210]

i would tell him and not pay him

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Did any of your birds end up surviving? I really hope, beyond hope that some did...

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I house-sat for my DH's aunts, and they had pigs, dogs, cats, sheep and fish. They had neglected to give their sheep some important worming medicine (but we didn't know, and they didn't think it'd be an issue), so on day 2, i called them and said "Gee, one of your sheep isn't eating, the others are pushing it out of the way" and they said "If it's still not eating tomorrow, call the neighbor to come look and decide if the vet needs to come" the next morning, the sheep was dead. I had to bury it, and then help the neighbor and vet go around and worm the rest of the flock of sheep. these women have never forgotten, and every time I see them, they say something like "Oh, this is the woman who was watching our sheep when they died". THANKS. I had a great, great time burying your dead bloated sheep in the field, and chasing and tackling and medicating your other 20 sheep... tons of fun... so I feel for the sitters.

 

[HHandbasket]

Your situation is different. They did not provide THEIR sheep with the appropriate medication before leaving, nor did they provide YOU with instruction to give it, and they are wrong to still give you a bad time about it. THEY neglected to tell you the sheep needed medication. That's on them, NOT you.

In this situation, the parties involved were given clear written instructions which they grossly neglected. Animals are dead as a result.

I would NEVER watch someone's animals and not follow their instructions to a T, and I would refer to the instructions frequently (that's why they're provided... DUH!). The kid is just a kid and yes, is bound to make mistakes. His/her parents need to take responsibility (since they allegedly "verified" that the written instructions had been completely carried out) and offer to clean up the mess that was created by their gross negligence and make restitution for the dead birds. Hopefully, they are decent people and will offer to make this right on their own and not put the OP in a position where she has to take them to small claims court over it.

One thing is for sure: I would make sure these people never came near my animals again, nor would I sit quietly by while they "animal-sit" for another neighbor. I would make sure that neighbor knew of their negligence.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

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Yes, a couple did end up surviving; I had topped off a large waterer in the garage, in case it got hot, so some were lucky. And skinny. I was VERY lucky that some survived!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh my gosh! I am so sorry for your loss!

this kid obviously neglected the instructions (they were WRITTEN!) and the parents supposedly "verified" that everything was done, obviously they did not do a very good job of that and/or were lazy, either way they neglected or didnt understand the instructions and animals died as a result so you should absolutely hold them responsible or at least tell them and make them clean it up and/or explain what happened, i also would not pay them because animals died as a result of their negligence and/or misunderstanding! I am very sorry for your loss but at least some survived.