You would do mostly anything for a close friend to help them out, right? Most of us would, especially when a little money is involved to sweeten the deal. A woman in Tennessee thought it would be easy enough to help take care of her friend’s dog for her while she was on vacation. In return, she’d be paid for her time. However, this sweet scenario turned into a chaotic disaster overnight.
Emilee posted on r/AmIOverreacting asking, “AIO for insisting my friend board her dog?” She explained she agreed to take care of her friend’s 10-year-old dog while she was on vacation for the week. Emilee was under the impression she’d be checking up on her before and after work. Her friend paid her $200 for the whole week, which is a pretty good deal.
However, the situation quickly escalated into something way out of Emilee’s control. There were eight whole pages of instructions, she had to stay the night, and the dog had to sleep with her. When Emilee mentioned she had plans for her day off and wouldn’t be around for a few hours, her friend “freaked out.” Emilee still agreed, though, and hoped for the best.
Her friend left for vacation and all seemed to go well until Emilee had to go to work. When she got back, the dog had pulled the trim off the door, chewed on pint and drywall. The second day, she came back to find the dog had eaten insulation and chewed on an electric wire. It seemed Emilee had bitten off more than she could chew, too.
As a result, Emilee asked Reddit if she would be overreacting if she called her friend while on vacation. Boarding the dog was going to be the best option. She added, “I cannot put my life on hold to supervise her pup 24/7, and above that, I can’t stand the thought of her dog getting seriously injured or causing any more property damage.”
The unexpected chaos that ensued also stunned Redditors, who agreed Emilee wasn’t in the wrong. One person said, “Not only are you not overreacting, but your friend needs to come home NOW to deal with her dog. This is such irresponsible ownership on her part.” The commenter, as well as others, agreed: this isn’t new behvaior. Another chimed in, “Question: Did the instructions she left include stating that the dog has severe separation anxiety and can never be left alone?”
Luckily, everything seemed to work itself out, as Emilee made an update post a few hours later. She was instructed to put a cone on the dog, nor to leave it unsupervised unless she was working. Emilee was flabbergasted by this response and told her “that would not be happening.” She was worried the dog would just go on eating hazardous materials anyway. Emilee claimed her friend showed the pictures to her mom and sister, who were on vacation with her. They both agreed Emilee would need to board the dog.
In the end, Emilee was told to take the dog to her friend’s uncle’s house until her friend’s vacation ended. She was told, however, she could keep the $200. How generous. As Emilee concludes, “This has genuinely been the worst pet sitting experience I’ve ever had, and I will NOT be doing it for anyone ever again.”
