A pet sitter’s post on Reddit, wondering whether she had overreacted when she was shorted her payment, went viral online.
The pet sitter, who wished to remain anonymous, recently confronted a client who didn’t pay the full amount after watching the couple’s dog. She texted the client, saying she saw the payment come through. However, it was $95 short. The dog owner replied that she will not pay the missing amount due to a ruined chair.
This pet sitter stayed at the couple’s home to watch their dog. She told Newsweek via Reddit messaging that she felt she had done everything right by walking the dog three miles and giving him a lick mat before leaving.
“…the owner not only confirmed but INSISTED that I leave the dog out,” she said. “And they KNEW I’d have to leave the house. So then their dog did what dogs do.”
When she noticed the dog had chewed up the chair, she immediately told the owner and put him in the crate to prevent further damage. The sitter believes that while the dog might be fine outside the crate for his owners, he was in a new situation with a stranger, which can cause different reactions.
The owner responded: “I’m going to need to consult with my lawyer.”
Feeling horrible about the incident and unsure how to handle the situation, the dog sitter took to Reddit and asked for advice. The post under the subreddit r/AmIOverreacting reached over 10,000 upvotes and 863 comments.
Many felt the dog sitter should take the client to small claims court.
One person wrote: “…You were acting in alignment with the information you were provided by them. Client is really consulting a lawyer that probably has a significant retainer they paid/will pay for but can’t shell out $95. Comical really.”
Another Redditor commented: “You aren’t overreacting, however, you lost your cool and became unprofessional after she said she will consult a lawyer. That’s a bad look.”
The sitter responded to the owner by telling her to “admit that you’re broke” and questioned why she would hire a lawyer over $90.
She later admitted in the comment section that her text might have been “a bit absurd.”
Her comment reads: “…But that was just my knee-jerk reaction to the client mentioning a lawyer as a means to intimidate me into backing down. Going forward, I will certainly try to have some more self-control…”
Since posting the text exchange, the sitter said the client’s husband called and everything has been settled. He paid her the remaining $95.
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The post Texts Go Viral as Owner Refuses to Pay Dog Sitter Over Damages: ‘Lawyer’ appeared first on Newsweek.
