Companion Animal Care Articles from All-Creatures.org

The Dog I Didn't Want To Care For

From Unparalleled Suffering
January 2023

It’s clear to me that the vast majority of animals living besides humans and under human control are living in far less than ideal situations that they definitely don’t deserve.

I wasn't the only one...

I used to live in Savannah, GA for 3 years, the first 2 years as a film student at the local art college and then the last year as a college dropout working extra-full-time at a crime-ridden liquor store that I miraculously survived without a bullet or an injury. One day Jess, a neighbor and college student who lived next door, came over and offered me money to take care of her dog (I don’t remember their name) while she went away on a trip. I declined because I barely had any experience with dogs in the past and although the responsibilities were fairly simple and straightforward I still didn’t want to get involved in case anything were to go wrong. I had three other roommates, so it wasn’t like she had no other options. Later on she asked my roommate Cameron and he gladly accepted the offer.

I considered both Cameron and Jess very irresponsible people (I was too in my own ways). For one example, Jess’s dog had already been hit by a car on two occasions. Cameron was a mess in so many different ways, but one that sticks out to me is how awful and dangerous of a driver he was. I sat in the passenger seat of his car at least a few times and every time was absolutely nerve-wracking, an accident seemed like a significant possibility every time.

Jess went on her trip and Cameron went next door and fulfilled his responsibilities…for a couple days. I can’t recall how many days Jess’s trip was, but it was at least a week. Cameron decided to just leave town and not tell anyone he was going or where he was going to. Forget hearing from him if you tried texting or calling. As I said, Cameron was a mess, he had done this a bunch of other times (leaving out of nowhere with no information), but how inconsiderate is it that he decided to do this after agreeing to take care of this dog? My other roommates weren’t the most competent people either, so I figured I would just do what I had to do for Jess and her dog. I let her know that Cameron bailed and that I would do the job.

The responsibilities were pretty simple, as far as I remember it was just letting her dog outside a couple or so times a day and handling their food and water. Other than that, just cleaning up any kind of mess that arose inside the house.

After Jess came back from her trip I expected her to come over at some point and pay me what she owed me for taking care of her dog. She never came over to pay me, so I politely asked her when she was going to compensate me. She straight up told me she wasn’t going to pay. Her reasoning was that her dog tore through some of her artwork and destroyed it. I think she mentioned some poop on the floor of her house too, but perhaps that was because she came back later than she told me she’d be back and I didn’t get to catch this one poop before she arrived. As far as her artwork getting torn up, I didn’t touch any of her belongings and my job wasn’t to babysit her dog, so there’s nothing I could have done about preventing this from happening. After asking numerous times for my compensation on multiple days, sometimes in front of mutual friends at social gatherings, I still never received shit. I decided to stop asking and just never talk to her again.

Not too long after this happened her dog got hit by a car, now for the third time. They died, but I don’t know any details as to whether the death was instant or not. Just as I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be responsible for her dog, Jess should have understood this about herself too. It’s bad enough for a dog to get hit by a car once or twice, but to allow this to happen for a third time is criminal in my opinion. She failed this dog who she was supposed to be in a role to protect.

I wish more people would be considerate as to whether they really have the qualifications and the means to care for another life besides themselves. Some can care for others just fine, but we all have limits for how much we can reasonably handle, and a lot of people betray their limits- to the detriment of their animals and often themselves. If taking care of someone properly becomes undesirable or unmanageable we should acknowledge this reality and do what we can for the best interests of those who we are supposed to be in a position to provide a worthwhile life to. Sometimes we may need to leave our comfort zone and ask for help, look to rehome, or fundraise to accomplish what needs to be done. We shouldn’t be ashamed to do any of these things if it’s what’s necessary for the best interests of individuals who aren’t in a position to be able to improve their lives on their own. Jess was clearly negligent and unfit to care for anyone other than herself in my opinion. Her dog could’ve avoided a death by being smashed by a car and could still be alive today living a better life with someone else who could have legitimately card for them in a way they deserved.

To this day as a 35-year-old man, I’m still the only long-term individual I’ve ever cared for. I love many individual animals who I’ve met and spent significant time with, but caring for someone full-time and long-term doesn’t fit well into my current lifestyle or capacity to provide quality care for others. In early 2020 during the heating up of the Covid panic I fostered a dog named Rosie who was living in depressing conditions at a local animal shelter. I had to get my parents' permission to foster her because I was crashing at their house during this time. Being Rosie’s primary caretaker for about six months reminded me that being someone’s forever guardian wasn’t for me. Rosie and I both got lucky as my parents decided to adopt her for life and continue feeding her an exclusively plant-based diet that she was enjoying and thriving on. It feels good to know that my Rosie girl is in good hands and likely won’t ever get hit by a car or be a repeat victim of human negligence (don’t know what happened to her before the shelter but she appeared to have some trauma).

Although it’s sad that dogs and other animals are put to death at shelters, I think sometimes it’s better that they die there than go home with certain individuals, such as people like Jess and Cameron. Some shelter animals that get “rescued” end up in the most atrocious of situations, such as beastiality rings and animal laboratories. I’m happy for every animal out there who is living a worthwhile and happy life under human hands and I know there are many out there who are, but it’s clear to me that the vast majority of animals living besides humans and under human control are living in far less than ideal situations that they definitely don’t deserve.

A recent photo of Rosie at my parent’s house. I can’t wait to see her again.

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