This Redditor Agreed To Dog-Sit For A Month—Then Their Friend Kept Extending Her European Vacation
A 28-year-old woman agreed to dog-sit for her closest friend for a month, and it turned into a six-week unpaid hostage situation, complete with bite training and a very needy Belgium Malinois. At first, it sounded reasonable, her friend was in Europe, and the dog would be her temporary responsibility while she was gone.
Then the vacation kept getting extended, first 10 extra days, then another week, and now the friend is talking about a boat cruise that would tack on five more days. The OP is preparing specific food, managing furniture-mouthing, and basically reorganizing their life around a high-energy working dog, all while their friend is distracted by a new guy she is “obsessed” with.
When OP finally draws a hard line, the friendship hits a wall fast.
The OP warned their friend that if she didn’t return soon, they’d place the dog in a kennel at her expense.
Original Post
So one of my closest friends left for Europe a month ago and I agreed to look after her dog when gone. It's a Belgium Malinois and a lot of work to take care of.It needs bite training, walks, specific food I have to prepare and occasionally bites/mouths furniture and other stuff around the house. While on holiday, she has met a guy that she is obsessed in (I am really happy for her truthfully) but she has extended the holiday 2x so far. First for 10 days then another week.At the first extension I was more than happy to look after the dog a little longer as she met the guy near the end of her trip and I wanted to give her the chance to build a connection with him. The second time I told her that "her dog isn't my responsibility and that it's becoming a drain having to revolve my life around it" but after she begged me I agreed that one more week is fine.However, yesterday she said that he was going to pay for them to go on a boat cruise before she leaves extending her trip an additional 5 days. At this point, I said that "I felt I was been taking advantage of, and that if she didn't come home, that I would take it to a dog keep at her expense."At this point she lost it and said that a "good friend would be happy she was getting an all expense cruise paid for and that she wouldn't have a problem doing this for me". At this I was pretty shook, I have been taking care of her dog for nearly 6 weeks now, and really am happy for her. IDK am I the Asshole here?
Let's see how the Reddit community reacted.
This is insane!
She's not a real friend.
She's taking advantage of you.
She should be paying you.
She's not capable of being a friend.
That poor dog.
She clearly doesn't care about her dog.
NTA.
What about her family?
This is quite worrying.
This seems fishy.
This isn't your responsibility!
When the friend’s Europe trip stretched from a month to extra weeks, OP was still willing to help, even after the “guy” showed up late in the first extension.
After the second extension, OP snapped that the dog “isn’t my responsibility,” then the friend begged again and got one more week.
The real breaking point came when the friend announced a boat cruise paid for by the guy, adding five more days to the already brutal schedule.
OP threatened to kennel the dog at the friend’s expense, and that’s when the friend claimed a “good friend” would just accept the all-expense cruise.
Now the Redditor is left wondering whether setting boundaries makes them a bad friend. But after six weeks of caring for a high-energy dog, plenty of commenters think it’s fair to say the favor has officially gone above and beyond.
Nobody wants to dog-sit for free while their friend treats a six-week commitment like a casual add-on.
Before you judge, read how the friend’s “overnight” dog-sitting turned into weeks of excuses.
Share this article:
