Friend asked me to pet sit for a weekend, then left a two-page list and no food for the dog
A friend of mine asked if I could watch her dog from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon while she went out of town. I’ve watched dogs before, I work from home, and her place is only about 15 minutes from mine, so I said yes. She offered me $60 for the weekend, which I honestly thought was low, but the dog is sweet and I figured it would mostly be feeding, walks, and hanging out. She said everything would be “super easy.”
I got to her apartment Friday and found a two-page handwritten instruction list on the counter. Not a cute “here’s his routine” list. A full schedule. Morning walk must be 45 minutes but “not too slow.” Evening walk must include a certain route because he “likes the vibes.” No TV above volume 20. No eating on the couch. Send photos every 3 hours. Brush him twice a day. Wipe paws after every walk even if it’s dry. Sleep in the bedroom with him because he gets lonely. Fine, annoying but whatever.
Then I opened the cabinet where she said his food was. Empty. I texted her and she replied, “Omg I forgot to restock, can you just grab the big bag from the pet store? I’ll pay you back when I get home.” The bag was $74. I told her I wasn’t comfortable covering that, especially on top of staying there all weekend. She said she was already on the road and asked why I was “making it stressful” when she trusted me with her baby. I said I could go if she Venmoed me first. She sent $30 and said that should be enough because “he doesn’t eat that much.”
I ended up telling her she needed to either send the full amount for food plus the agreed pet sitting money upfront, or call someone else. She got mad and said real friends don’t nickel and dime. I told her real friends don’t leave their dog with no food and expect someone to fund the weekend. She finally sent the money after like 20 minutes of guilt tripping, but then asked if I could also wash his bedding before she got back because “you’ll be there anyway.”
I did not wash the bedding. I fed the dog, walked him, sent normal updates, and left her apartment clean. When she got home she texted “thanks I guess” and said she was hurt that I treated it like a business transaction. Girl, you made it a business transaction when you offered $60 and a chore manual.