Should I be upset?

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kherrmann3

kherrmann3

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OK, I went camping this weekend. Will & I left on Friday morning, and came back Sunday afternoon. I have my roommate take care of the rabbits while I am gone (he has messed up a few times before - no food, no hay, no water (separate instances, and he promised that they wouldn't happen again)). So, I trust him again. I mean, he's messed up everything else, what can he mess up this time? *sigh* I come home, and the litter boxes are FILLED with hay! My poor bunnies can't even get in them to go potty! They must have scaled the giant heap of hay eventually, because half of it was wet with pee. Since I've been home, I haven't seen Sammi eat much of anything. She ate some craisins last night, and I think I heard her chewing on her lettuce (it wasn't in there this morning, so she must have ate it). She didn't eat any of her pellets this morning (odd). I hope she's OK.

Should I be upset about my roommate sucking at taking care of my pets? I left clear instructions (including the DO NOT FEED FISH IN TANKS part - he fed them anyway). *sigh* It's so easy to leave town and have him take care of the bunnies, but I'm starting to doubt his capabilities. For longer trips, I usually pay our apartment manager's daughter to take care of them, or send the rabbits to my mum's house.

Blah. Roommates are such a pain sometimes!
 
I agree... If it has happened repeatedly, then you should be upset. But you have to remember that the fur-kids are not his responsibility on a normal basis. I think that it boils down to not really caring as much as someone who "owns" the responsibility.

I had that happento some degree last year. I took a day ride out of state. I had everything ready -- veggies all labeled, pellets measured out, time schedule for stuff... Thankfully, I didn't spend the night. I came home around 2:30 in the morning only to find that Zappa had no food and no water. That was when I had her upstairs separated from the others. She was just a baby of four months....:cry2I was so upset because I had to wonder what would have happened to her if I had spent the night. I cried so much, partly from being so tired, and also at the thought of the irresponsiblity that could have cost Zappa her life.

It doesn't take that much to take care of rabbits.... But finding someone responsible to at least provide food and water is like finding a needle in a haystack....

myheart
 
I agree- you should definitely be upset!

I guess at the end of the day, he doesn't have to do it since they aren't his pets and he only shares the house with you. But if he accepts the responsibility and says he will look after them for you, then he should follow through and do it properly. It's pretty hard to mess up like that when you leave such clear instructions! I'd personally feel absolutely terrible if I agreed to look after somebody's pets and didn't do it properly... I just couldn't.

It makes me so glad that we have found an amazing pet sitter who we can trust, and my mum is nearby to look after them... I don't know what we'd do otherwise!
 
Ya I would be upset, especially at the fish thing, I mean you left such obvious instructions not to feed them and he still fed them. :rollseyes
 
i too would be upset , i think next time you go get the managers daughter to do it again, and if your room mate says something straight up tell him that he cant be trusted to follow the instructions that you leave so you would rather go with someone who is going to do what you ask.
 
we think you should treat it as a learning experience. The old adage, "fool me once" applies. Next time you go away, get someone you can trust and that is dependable--that obviously is not your roommate. Every time we go some where, our son takes care of the bunnies. We leave him express instructions and cal a couple times a day. Since we are his landlord and he doesn't want to be homeless, or even worse, paying rent he pays attention to the bunnies. The houseplants that dies from lack of water are another matter entirely.
 
Nancy McClelland wrote:
Since we are his landlord and he doesn't want to be homeless, or even worse, paying rent he pays attention to the bunnies. The houseplants that dies from lack of water are another matter entirely.
Click to expand...

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
I pay him to take care of the rabbits, too. You would think that money would be a better motivator, if nothing else. I wish I could yell at him. I could punch a hole in the wall thinking of the dumb things he does, but then when I get up to talk to him, I just can't do it. I think I treat him that way because I think he's retarded sometimes. I will definitely have Will talk to him, because he just doesn't listen to me sometimes.

Oh, I don't really have any friends who could bunny sit, either. The two friends I trust enough live too far away.
 
ugh...i would be. i remember i was so upset i was nearly in tears. i left instructions...typed all pretty with bunny drawings on them and everything.
left for two weeks...came back the rabbits were cornered off in the dining room. the flemmie boys were running loose in there, the poop was PILED over the white carpet and the pee stained so bad that a used a whole jar of oxi clean and steam cleaned twice professionally and you can still tell. the litter boxes were disgusting, they were all fat from over feeding and had no water. my cat hadnt been fed in a week cause he said she started attacking him when he went to feed her. it was horrible....
 
I'd be super upset. Favor or not, there is no excuse for that kind of stupidity. It's not hard to take care of rabbits. :grumpy:

Perhaps the next time you leave you can show him step by step what you are supposed to do.

I know I had to do that with my dad when I stay with Dave for a few days.

Maybe he did such a bad job so you would ask someone else to do it next time. :shock:
 
I would be not a happy camper :pssd:

Like I leave the bunnies with my mom when I go to my dads, but I just hate having someone else do it :expressionlessShe does everything properly but still lol

Since you only have 2 bunnies maybe next time you go camping you could bring them :] When I only had 4 bunnies I would bring them with me, they loved it.
 
mardigraskisses wrote:
Perhaps the next time you leave you can show him step by step what you are supposed to do.
Click to expand...
I did... I write out bullet-point style notes on a loose-leaf scrap of paper. They look something like this:

Bunneh Care Instructions!
- Both rabbits get 1/6 cup of pellets early in the AM (normally 5-6 AM) (1/6 cup is half a scoop with the cup that is stored in the pellets).
- Make sure bunnies have water at all times.
- Both bunnies get 2-3 lettuce leaves per night (around 9 PM).

(etc... etc...)

He just does something different wrong each time. I don't get it. When I leave, I try to make him watch what I do, but he just sits there at his computer going, "Yeah, yeah, I've done it before. I remember.", but when I say that he did it wrong last time, he responds with, "Really?" :grumpy:

I've learned to not pay him until I return and base his pay on the bunny care. For 2 days, I'd normally leave him $10, but because he didn't listen this time, he got $5.
 
money isn,t a good enough incentive,..if he had something to risk he would care,,he won,t even be attentive enough to get involved,.they are your rabbits and you cannot make others responsible for them,,make changes and better arrangements,..i feel like dear abby,..sincerely james waller
 
I would definitely be upset. You left him clear instructions that he didn't follow and you payed him for it.

However it's not that he's uncaring, he's just not reliable for things like that. I think it's obvious that next time you go away, get someone who is dependable to come in and do everything.

Btw fuzz16, your experience sounds awful! I would be absolutely furious at the guy! Poor you!
 
This is why I hate to go out of town for more than a weekend. I generally leave my bunnies lots of hay, two or three water bottles, and just ask my brother to feed them. But if I have to be gone for too long I will pay whoever takes care of them on how well they have been taken care of when I get back with everything labeled and such and another sibling or parent to check up on them to make sure it is done. My sister is pretty responsible about it if I tell her beforehand. However, I always text them when they need to be fed and tell them to text me back when they have done what I told them to do.
 
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