Pets Almost Died

[Ryuukie]

My boyfriend has two roommates. Roommate A has three dogs and three cats. Roommate A went on vacation, as he's done many times, and didn't ask either roommate to care for his pets while he is away.

Yesterday my boyfriend had to attend a funeral and was gone overnight. When he got home he was shocked to find the air conditioner was turned off and that the pets had no food or water.

Thank God they all survived the heat -- the outside temperature reached 95 that day.

My boyfriend is upset that roommate B didn't care for the animals. I think roommate B should be reamed a new asshole - even though roommate A didn't ask him to mind his pets and my boyfriend didn't tell roommate B that he would be gone overnight. (None of the three roommates ever tell each other if they're staying out overnight.)

I think it's one thing to accidentally forget to feed the pets, but it seems careless and even malicious to turn off the air conditioner.

What do you think?

 

[highwindcaleb]

turning off the AC is cruel... but it is kinda unlikely i think that a 95 degree outdoor temp would kill the pets in a few hours... do you know how long the AC was off?

 

[gsdx]

I think I might have called the Humane Society, especially if it's an ongoing thing. I hate when animals are mistreated or neglected like that.

 

[AlmondMilk]

I would've at least given water...and some food...

The thing with living with other people is that you need to have meetings. Yes, you're not in a relationship, but you do live with each other. You still need to communicate with each other.

 

[vulgar_newcomer]

I think it sucks if roommate B did that on purpose. Those animals have no say or control of who takes care of them.
Roommate A isn't right either and he is irresponsible for having all those animals with no idea of how to care for them or a plan with the other roommates. Likely roommate A with the animals should have them all removed if not some from his stewardship

 

[Beachguyj]

Problem number 1 don't go away without asking someone to watch your pets.

Did your boyfriend leave out extra food and water for the dogs for the overnight trip?

A dog does not die from 95 degree outside temperature when they are inside for a day. They will instinctively find a shady area to lay down.

I bet the dogs shit all over the house too.

I love dogs, but don't have pets, some people don't like dogs, if you love your dog take it to a kennel if you are worried about it.

Otherwise have the dog owner invest in blackout curtains, it will keep a lot of the sun and heat out.

 

[Beachguyj]

I think I might have called the Humane Society, especially if it's an ongoing thing. I hate when animals are mistreated or neglected like that.

and the owner would get in trouble for going on vacation and not asking for anyone to care for his animals, you make a good point call them.

 

[Taz]

careless perhaps. but this situation sound more like a string of non-communication than anything malicious. who knows maybe roomate B had a hard day or had something on his mind and didn't even think of the pets.

 

[swerve]

Lets hope that Roommate A and Roommate B don't start rooming with Michael Vick...

 

[teadrinker]

From the sounds of it I'd say that A is the most culpable - going away and not ensuring first of all that his pets be properly looked after. Mr B might simply be blind to the animals; they aren't his, and he's not an animal lover anyway.

Having not received any instructions, Mr B may have assumed that the animals were in some way being looked after, and didn't bother to check. No, the fault is all Mr A's: they're his animals, and its his responsibility to ensure care of his animals.

-T.

 

[Swellegant]

I once locked a roommate's cat in the linen closet over a weekend. It had crawled in there while the door was ajar and gone to sleep on the towels; I habitually close closet doors, especially if I'm leaving the house (don't want the closet monsters getting out and eating my food). After it was let out, it destroyed my curtains. Plus my roommates carped at me for hours and made me promise never to close the closet doors again as long as I live.

But pets are fairly hardy creatures... being left in an apartment overnight without AC won't kill them...you could probably leave them three or four days before they started eating each other. You're thinking of animals being left in a closed car with the windows shut... that will kill them.

But to the original question, the pets' owner is responsible for their care and upkeep, no one else. In a roommate situation where there is little communication between the roommates, he cannot assume that the other roommates will care for his animals automatically. To leave them for an extended period without specifically arranging for someone to care for them is irresponsible in the extreme.

 

[FPNY]

the guy who claims ownership of the pets is who is responsible for them. he shouldn't go away without being sure they are going to be cared for...plain and simple.

dogs lived for a long time before a/c was invented. they can cope.

 

[nfgrls]

I personally see the owner as the at fault party, they are his pets not the roomates. Now if he turned off the ac to harm them thats another story. As a pet owner I would NEVER just leave my pets unattended to like that, I would of made sure someone was going to take care of them while I was gone.

 

[nfgrls]

the guy who claims ownership of the pets is who is responsible for them. he shouldn't go away without being sure they are going to be cared for...plain and simple.

dogs lived for a long time before a/c was invented. they can cope.

Most dogs can but some like bull dogs and pugs can not tolerate the heat at all, they will over heat

 

[freefall]

Perhaps roommate B assumed your BF would come home in like sometime after he left? That, judging from your BF didn't say anything about his funeral attendance.

I don't know, seems more like communication failure than misbehaviour toward animals to me. The pet owner should've informed the others about his pets and how to take care of them while he was away, and your BF, who cared more about the pets than the others (maybe), should've told the other roommate he would be away and the responsibility fell to his hands.

Are cellphones and Internet kings that people stop speaking to each other?