Roommate buys golden retriever puppy knowing both roommates have said a clear no.
Okay. To start off, me and my roommates, A & M, have resigned our lease next year last september, a month into first living together this year. We will be living in our college's "seniorland," next to a lot of senior houses, the train, and a very tiny apartment.
Back in December, A really wanted a cat. This stems from her ex breaking up with her (to which she then went on a bender for a month and became a less desirable roommate at the time), because she "always" needs someone around. Or something. She consistently complains that we're bad roommates because we're always out and busy, and that she has no one to hang out with, or no one to be excited to see her when she's home.
I told her a harsh no to this cat, because my entire family is allergic and it would be very unfair for her to get a cat knowing that my family almost would never be able to come into our apartment. She was upset at me, but didnt get the cat.
In Janurary, she starts talking about getting a dog. Rescuing a dog. (Context: she's a animal science major, and the president of a service dog club, and works at a vet clinic.) She wont stop talking about rescuing a dog. I was under the impression that it would be a pitbull at the end of its life, that she wants to save, but A and M are MUCH closer than me and A, so I wasnt really in the conversations, not that I cared. M shut it down, and said no dog. So A came and complained to me, saying it was so unfair that M said no to the dog, and that she wants a dog so bad. I said damn that sucks.
Spring break, I find out in a groupchat (with 10 of our other friends) that she had sent a picture of a golden retreiver puppy, with the caption "our fourth roommate!". WTF. I ask M what is happening, and she was confused as to why A hadnt told me yet. A talks about it when we all get back, and it's VERY clear that me and M do not want this puppy. A says, "No, my mom got it for me as a 21st gift, its not like i can return it!"
M and I were both pissed, but A doesnt respond to that. We had conversations with her about how this dog wouldnt be a good idea. How this dog would eventually become our responsibility too, and we dont want that. How this dog sheds, how its a puppy, how it will bark etc. Her answers were, "No, I would train the dog really well. This is gonna be good for me. No, I would NEVER ask you guys for help. No, I'll clean up the dog with the shedding, no the dog will not bark." You legit cant reason with her. M was talking with her about how this dog is a bad idea, and A goes, "You can sublease."
So thats her perspective on this whole thing. Her plan, also, is to take this puppy, which will be a month old in June, and crate it during her 50 hour work weeks this entire summer, and train it when she has time. Also, we found out that the dog wasnt a gift. She had been begging her mom to LET her get this dog since december. And she bought everything for the dog. WTF.
She will also crate it during her 7-8 PM class days, whenever she has ISD events, and whenever she works her 12 hour shifts during the weekend. This has got to be animal curelty, especially for the first year of this dogs life. I dont want this dog, but she doesnt seem to have much of a reaction to anything I tell her. I even told her that my best friend is allerigic to dogs and how will she be able to come over, something I would have said if I had known that she was getting a puppy, and A simply said, "You can hang out at hers."
WTF?? My mom HATES this idea, even to the point where she wants to get a attorney to get her out of this lease. I want to get out of this lease, but who is gonna wanna take over this lease with a crazy roommate and a golden puppy??
Also, our next apartment is pet friendly, but obviously we didnt consider that. Our apartment is also not fit for a dog, as it is extremely small, and our rooms are so small that A wants to put the crate in the living room, to which we both said fuck no.
What can I do??? Please help me out because I dont want this living situation my senior year, and I have already talked to her SOOOOOO many times and just keep getting the same bitchy answer.
**UPDATE:** So I looked into the lease and it's a hard no on pets — $250 fine plus $25/day if one's found, with the only exception being a documented service animal. The three of us signed back in October. My roommate got a puppy this May without running it by me or our other roommate, and neither of us want a dog. It's not a service animal and not a real ESA, though I wouldn't be shocked if she tried to claim it is now. I also found out that since we're all on the lease, the landlord can come after any of us for her fines or damages, which puts me and my other roommate on the hook for something we didn't agree to. We're signing ext year and I'm trying to figure out if she's submitted any paperwork for this dog, and what we can do to make sure it doesn't follow us into the new place.