That’s another good point, which also occurred to me after I made my post: if younger sister agrees to this, she will be the go-to person for pet sitting from now on. It’s always easier to ask somebody to do something if they’ve already caved in and done it before.
As long as “help your family” means make arrangements to send the pets to board for them, OK.
The title said “crisis” so I was all ready to say “In an emergency, if you won’t do it for the human, at least do it for the pet.”
But a vacation is hardly a crisis. Paying for boarding or pet-sitting is part of the cost of a vacation. If you can’t afford it, take a cheaper vacation, find a cheaper pet-sitter (impossible in this case, unless she has a pet-loving friend nearby), or don’t go on vacation.
Budgeting money is part of being a grown-up.
No. They need to save for the sitter for the pets or lump it. Don’t get bullied into taking care of their pet. The pet owner is being a cheap ass selfish manipulative bully. Bringing in the rest of the family to harass the sister that doesn’t want to do this is more bullying. Family used to pull this crap on me, and it made my week or two Hell. It was of course over holidays too, so screw staying for activities, you had to be back for their pets every day.
If my husband and I are out of town together, one of my husband’s grandnephews comes over every day to feed and water the cats, and to scoop the boxes. However, we PAY him to do this, and we ask him if he is willing and able to do this before we finalize the plans for each trip. He’s a teen, and is almost always glad to get a little extra spending money. But we don’t pressure him, we ask, and if he says he’s not willing or he’s got other plans, then we make other arrangements. Most importantly, he loves our cats and always likes to play with them when he comes over to visit.
We certainly do not ask my husband’s brother to take care of the cats, even though the brother is sporadically unemployed. Brother, you see, hates cats and all animals. While Brother would like the money, I don’t feel comfortable with having him take care of the cats.
Crisis averted, for now — pet sis emailed me last night (didn’t see it till I got up just now) that her neighbor is going to watch the pets for her. Remains to be seen how long the mutual resentment lasts. To be fair, she reminded me in the same email that she has driven and/or picked up non pet sis and hubby to the airport many times, without reciprocity (she hardly ever flies), so she was owed a favor.
Thanks to everybody who responded; I’m sure the advice on boarding will come in handy in the future, after the neighbor has some experience with her dog.
Glad to hear, but picking someone up from the airport isn’t at par with watching a dog. More importantly she needs to be asked if she was picking sis up at airport as an act of kindness or to create an obligation on receivers part. If it was the latter she needs to own that when she’s doing it, not afterward.
It’s not an act of kindness if you feel it obligates others to you. You’re not doing right!
But who wants someone watching their pet who isn’t a pet person? Someone not into it should be the last choice of any owner, in my opinion.
Trying to force someone into something they are unwilling to do, is not similar to receiving the benefit of a favour someone else was willing to do, I think.
I don’t know that driving to the airport is quite equivalent.
I have an arrangement with friends for pet sitting. They have 5 year old an a one year old. We watch their kids on a regular basis, and once a year or so they take our dog for a week or so while we’re on vacation. Their daughter adores the dog and anticipates the visits, and I think it lets them get their dose of “dog having” without having to have a dog. My dog is also lazy, gentle, and well behaved-- she lets the toddler crawl all over her and such. (And likewise we adore the kids, and it gives us our dose of kid time)
But for each baby/pet sitting event, we always ask. There’s never an obligation. I certainly wouldn’t do it if the dog was a PITA.