Tough call :(

DRZ

DRZ

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Yesterday Paula and I were invited to Paula's sister's flat to meet her and have something to eat. Paula was working so she was going to go straight there and I was to be collected by Jenna and taken there as I had no clue where it was.

She has two dogs and I really really dont like dogs unless they are being really well behaved and generally out of my way. Other than that, I *love* all domestic animals.

When I got there, we were greeted by her next-door neighbours who were concerned about the people next door to them - the girl is a bit dippy and had gone off with her two dogs to look after her mum's 10 dogs! Unfortunately, she had left 4 rabbits, 3 guinea pigs, 2 cats and some fish in her own flat and more of less completely forgotten about them. The smell and flies had annoyed them because they have two small children so I was charged with going in to investigate. I found two dead rabbits and one dead guinea pig. There was *nothing* to eat or drink in the hutch - the guinea pig had actually died in its food bowl :(

A makeshift hutch was constructed on the garden from bits of the old hutch that werent ruined or had been near the dead ones and I extracted the cute but very, very hungry and nearly-dead rabbits. The two surviving guinea pigs were really, really thin and absolutely starving. When we put them in the new hutch they started munching grass instantly at a rate of knots - the poor blighters were absolutely starving! :mad:

One of the cats was nowhere to be seen but the other one was fine - she was cleaning herself and purring so she wasnt distressed or anything like that, she obviously had caught or stolen her own food and found somewhere nice to sleep.

I didnt go into the flat to discover the fate of the fish but I would guess that they died too.

While I was shovelling the dead animals into the bin, the owner returned. Unknown to me at the time, Jenna and this character were good friends. When she learned waht had happened she was shaking/crying/generally upset - apparrently her BF was supposed to come around and feed/water them but had forgotten or just not bothered. :(

Literally moments before she walked into the garden I was about to phone the RSPCA and get these animals the care they deserve but in this case, it wasnt her fault. For the rest of the evening I was *still* tempted to phone them really because I just got a bad feeling from everything that had happened and what was said, I dont think that was the first time she has vanished and left them to fend for themselves (but that is purely speculation). The fact she is a friend of Jenna's made things a bit more tricky as well.

There was other stuff too that made me a bit :/ about the place but airing it here probably isnt going to do anyone any favours.

It was quite obvious she cares a lot about animals in general and loves her rabbits (she went and inspected / hugged each one individually) but I cant help feeling I should have made that call. Tough one...

If it had been the girl that had simply not bothered to feed them and give them water, believe me I would have made the call on the spot. She had made arrangements to have them fed and watered and the person that she had arranged it with (her BF) had let her down. That is why it is a tough call to make - ultimately it wasnt her fault :(
 
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If she isn't lying about her BF then in my opinion, do not make the phone call as it's clearly not her fault. She obviously cares about her animals a lot considering what you said about the rabbits and hugging. If no BF was involved and she did leave them to fend on themselves, then i would have definatly made a phone call

My 2cents :)
 
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The way I see it, she had made arrangements for the animals to be fed by somebody else. This person failed to keep to the arrangements, therefore the animals suffered.

The girl obviously put trust in this person to keep to the arrangements of feeding the animals.

So, in my eyes, it isn't her fault really. I would be tempted to find out if this person who suppose to feed the animals, has animals themselves. If so, what condition are they in?

Don't punish the girl for doing what she thought was right. Let her learn from her mistakes.
 
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Although it seems that it is not her fault she could have made more effort to find out how her animals were. Especially if she cares so much about them. From the sounds of it they have been left for a while and any animal lover would ensure their pets were ok. Maybe she has too many animals to cope with and won't admit it.

If I were you I would contact the RSPCA. They can investigate and if they find out that she is not at fault then nothing will come of it. You really don't know this woman and if she will do this again or not. The most deacent thing to do is ensure the animals are all safe and well looked after. The fact that it's your sisters neighbour/friend should not matter.
 
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Sounds like the boyfriend is going to be in the **** now if she cared about the animals.

We've gone on holiday before and had neighbours come in to feed the gerbils/keep an eye on the fish etc. and they've been perfect in the past...wouldn't even consider phoning them to check up on them whilst on holiday so I imagine she just thought the boyfriend would be sorting them all out.

I wouldn't have called the RSPCA in that case if she looked genuinely distressed and the story with the boyfriend didn't sound dodgy.
 
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DRZ said:
.. When she learned what had happened she was shaking/crying/generally upset - apparrently her BF was supposed to come around and feed/water them but had forgotten or just not bothered. :(

It was quite obvious she cares a lot about animals in general and loves her rabbits (she went and inspected / hugged each one individually) but I cant help feeling I should have made that call. Tough one...

Come on, if she really cared about her animals she would've checked with her BF that he was taking care of them correctly.
If I'm away for more than a couple of days I get a friend to feed my cats, and even though I trust them completely I still call to see if everythings ok.

This kind of animal cruelty disgusts me, and to simply blame it on somone else just doesn't wash with me. If you're an animal owner then you have a duty of care to look after them..blaming someone else is simply not good enough.

Make that call to the RSPCA, its your duty..the call can be anonymous.
 
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robbiemc said:
Come on, if she really cared about her animals she would've checked with her BF that he was taking care of them correctly.


There is this thing people have called trust. It's not her fault, and nobody can say that she didn't care for the animals. It's horrible what happened but the RSPCA are not really going to help anyone in this situation now.
 

4T5

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When i go down south to visit my daughter my Frank staffy dog is babysat by my woman. Even though i trust her completely i still ring whilst i am down there just to make sure he/they are ok. When i go out anywhere and leave him alone i leave a key with someone just in case i am not back in my Max 6 hour window. Usually 5 but i don't panic till 6.
If she cared about those animals she would have phoned and checked up on them. Any doubt in her mind and she would have returned. My animal is a part of me and also lives in my head we are totally connected. I am not and can not be happy unless i know my animal is the same, Simple as that.
I would ring the RSPCA and voice my concerns in a casual way. They are not heavy handed at all and will only pop round on a friendly visit. Although she may care for them well she still may benefit from a bit of friendly RSPCA advice. The RSPCA love animals as much as me, Sod the people they can look after themselves.
 
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DO THE RIGHT THING

the 'owner' is responsible for the animals and for arranging care of them in her abscence.

those animals suffered due to her neglect

she is in my mind a disgrace to the human race and should not be allowed to keep animals.

REPORT HER TO THE RSPCA.... before this happens again
 
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But malc, isn't what she is did is leave someone who she trusts in charge of taking care of her animals. Really she is a victim of two things, her pets dying and an abuse of trust. I don't see how the RPSCA monitoring her and probably prosecuting her could help her when it is the bloke who is in the wrong.


I really don't see how it is neglect on her part anyway.


I mean I go on Holiday and leave my sister in charge of the cat and chickens I never call to ask how they are going because I trust her. Ergo, I must be a neglectful animal abusing evil man.
 
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I'm under the impression that owner was away for much more than few days so if she cared enough about her pets, she would call to make sure everything's ok.

I have 2 dogs and 3 cats (looking after 2 for my sisters atm as they're on holiday) and I know it is never easy going away from them but if you do, you have to go to great length to ensure they are well cared for while you are away.

I would not leave them in house for days and expect someone else just to 'come and feed' them.

Looking after them, takes much more than 'just feeding them'. IMO, it's best to leave them at someone's instead of your home because they will receive daily attention.

So yes, I would call RSPCA.
 
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ThriceNightly said:
the 'owner' is responsible for the animals and for arranging care of them in her abscence.

those animals suffered due to her neglect

she is in my mind a disgrace to the human race and should not be allowed to keep animals.


Come off it :-/

She sounds like she arranged for them all to be fed etc. while she was away but for some reason the person asked did not do this. How is that a "disgrace to the human race". Mistakes happen, maybe the person she asked got the dates mixed up, maybe she should have called to check up on them but it doesn't sound like she just packed her bags and drove off without thinking of the animals...
 
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