Would you want the money or not?

[*anj*]

Here's a scenario for your consideration.

 

Say you pet-sat someone's small animal for three weeks.

The person provided you with a decent amount of food, but you ended up needing to buy more.

So you went out to get more food (to the very exacting specifications of the owner) and drove around a fair bit to find acceptable food.

 

Say the person came to retrieve their pet and brought thoughtful little gifts for the family as a way of saying "thanks."

When the person offers to pay you for the pet food you purchased, what do you do? Do you take the money or brush it off?

 

I told her I'd take the money. I even rounded the price down by almost a dollar. I know that she doesn't have much money, and I considered telling her not to worry about it, but then again she is the owner of the pet. She has made a choice to own said pet, so that should mean that she can afford to feed it. I on the other hand, used almost $10 out of my quickly depleting grocery budget for the month.

 

Dh was shocked that I took her money. He said I should've told her not to worry about it. I already told you what I think. I am usually not a cheap person by any means. I just didn't expect that agreeing to care for someone's pet means purchasing the food.

 

What do you think?:001_huh:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Sure, she would have had to buy the food to feed her cat anyway. But I probably wouldn't accept any more money than what I paid for the food.

[Greta]

When I have pet-sat for a friend, it was understood that *she* supplied food and toys, and if necessary, paid any vet bills (thankfully that has not been necessary). Conversely, when we go out of town and have our dogs pet-sat, we provide all the food, toys, etc. and would pay any necessary vet bills. To me, that's just a given.

[Happy]

To me the shocking thing is that she did not leave an adequate supply of food for her pet. I always stock up and leave extra as I don't want the caretaker to run short. Irresponsible.

 

Yes, in this case, I would have taken the cash. You did her a favor and didn't charge for gas. ;) It should not cost you to care for her pet.

[JFSinIL]

Take the money. It is reimbursement for the animal food you had to buy. I always leave plenty of food for the animals the neighbors have to pet sit....except for the time when we owned a lizard, and I had to leave enough $$$ so they could buy more live crickets as needed.

[percytruffle]

If I were you I would have taken it too. You are right, the responsibility to own and care for the pet is hers. She shouldn't have expected you to foot the food bill, and she didn't. If circumstances were different and you were more than able to help her out by paying for the food you may have chosen to, but that would have been a choice not an obligation. What transpired between you two seems fair and equitable to me.

[abbeyej]

I'm with you. But since when is that surprising? ;)

[shalom22]

I think that I would base my decision on the relationship that I have with that person. For instance, I have close friends and we do stuff for each other and these things usually involve purchases, ie: picking up something at the store for each other, etc. Now if that is the case, then I would tell her to forget about reimbursing me, because it will work out in the long run. But if on the other hand, this is not one of those types of relationships then I would probably ask to be reimbursed.

 

Just me 2 cents.

[Kathleen in VA]

I would have taken the money. Like was said before, she would have had to buy the food anyway. It's no different than if she had called you while you were at the grocery store and asked you to pick up some pet food for her and she just paid you when she dropped by to get it.

[Crissy]

I wouldn't have asked for the money, but if she had offered, I would have accepted it.

Another person's pet's specialty diet is not my responsibility.

 

My own dog has allergies and requires a special diet. Her food is more expensive than the average grocery store kibble. I wouldn't expect a sitter to pay for her food.

[Tracey in TX]

It's her pet; it's her pet food. If she didn't provide enough food for her pet, she should certainly pay for the food unless you planned on keeping it for any of your pets. The gifts are a sweet gesture, but it's still money for her dog food.

 

I will remember this as I bring my beloved dog next week to a friend's home as they pet-sit him.(We bought new food today so they don't have to buy any.)

[gardenschooler]

I would have taken it, and not felt like I was being 'cheap' in the least. You did her a very nice favor (around here, we pay each other to watch pets - even among friends), but of course, she's to cover the cost of the food.

 

Your dh sounds like mine. Mr. Deep Pockets (but really not, he just doesn't seem to know that). Maybe guys are embarrassed more about being reimbursed for things, you think?

 

Here's a scenario for your consideration.

 

Say you pet-sat someone's small animal for three weeks.

The person provided you with a decent amount of food, but you ended up needing to buy more.

So you went out to get more food (to the very exacting specifications of the owner) and drove around a fair bit to find acceptable food.

 

Say the person came to retrieve their pet and brought thoughtful little gifts for the family as a way of saying "thanks."

When the person offers to pay you for the pet food you purchased, what do you do? Do you take the money or brush it off?

 

I told her I'd take the money. I even rounded the price down by almost a dollar. I know that she doesn't have much money, and I considered telling her not to worry about it, but then again she is the owner of the pet. She has made a choice to own said pet, so that should mean that she can afford to feed it. I on the other hand, used almost $10 out of my quickly depleting grocery budget for the month.

 

Dh was shocked that I took her money. He said I should've told her not to worry about it. I already told you what I think. I am usually not a cheap person by any means. I just didn't expect that agreeing to care for someone's pet means purchasing the food.

 

What do you think?:001_huh:

[Mama Lynx]

I'd have been mortified that I didn't leave enough food, and had caused my pet sitter to pay out of pocket. To me, I would only have felt right if I reimbursed.

[Ferdie]

I would have taken the money if she offered it. I think you did her a big favor by taking such great care of her pet and going out of your way to find the right food.

[*anj*]

Whew! Okay, thanks everyone. I feel better. GS, I know what you mean. I think that sometimes he's just too nice and maybe feels a little protective toward this friend because she doesn't have much money.

 

I thought I had made the right decision, and all of your replies to my question confirm it.

 

Thanks a bunch!:001_smile:

[Kelli in TN]

Not only would I have taken the money, I'd have had the receipt ready for her to reimburse me. I am just cheap that way.

[sweetfeet]

Not only would I have taken the money, I'd have had the receipt ready for her to reimburse me. I am just cheap that way.

I guess I'm cheap too because this is what I would do. She would have had to pay for food for that time period if the cat was with her. Add me to the surprised that she didn't plan better and let her animal run out of food part way through her absence.

[Twinmom]

I'd have been mortified that I didn't leave enough food, and had caused my pet sitter to pay out of pocket. To me, I would only have felt right if I reimbursed.

 

I'm with Mama!

[elegantlion]

Yes, I would have taken the money, no qualms. As a pet owner I would have offered to pay.

 

What was the old saying I heard. It's polite to refuse the money the first time, but it's also polite to offer a minimum of three times. If they refuse to take the money on the third try they really are saying no.

[ticklbee]

Oh my, I am so in the minority here but I would not have taken it. I would have just said something like "Oh, don't worry about it" But that's just me. It's just one of those things that happen and I don't think I would have thought too much about it. She sounds like she was thoughtful and grateful by bringing back gifts for the family to say thanks. That's why I would have let it go. If she insisted then I would have taken it because in that scenario it's more gracious to accept it then to refuse.

[Kate in Arabia]

I'm with you, Melissa, I would refuse unless she insisted.

 

Not at all similar, but it brought back memories of my last, and hopefully final, pet sitting experience, lol; I was taking care of two dogs for a friend, one was very old and had been with her since she was a teenager; and yes, the dog died while she was gone. I was a basket case, and I tried to refuse the money she wanted to give me for petsitting, but she insisted so I took it, but I felt incredibly guilty. Really not one of my more pleasant memories :( I'm very reluctant to pet sit anymore.

[crazycoffeechic]

Since she offered, yes, I would have taken the money too.

[Plaid Dad]

I would expect to be reimbursed if I bought food for someone else's pet under those circumstances. I would have just matter-of-factly saved the receipt for that purpose. I don't think you need to feel bad about accepting the money.

[2cents]

Accept the offer of payment for the food definately. She wanted to give it to you and you should take it. You saved her HUNDREDS in pet boarding fees so it is very fair that she pay for the food.

[*anj*]

Not only would I have taken the money, I'd have had the receipt ready for her to reimburse me. I am just cheap that way.

Oh, I had it. I had left the whole bag of food in the pet store bag and the receipt was with it. She saw the bag, took the food out, and put it with her other stuff. Then she asked me how much it cost and I told her it was $9. It was actually $9.66 with tax, but I was trying to be nice. In hindsight I realize that I should've taped the receipt to the bag.

[WTMindy]

Here's a scenario for your consideration.

 

Say you pet-sat someone's small animal for three weeks.

The person provided you with a decent amount of food, but you ended up needing to buy more.

So you went out to get more food (to the very exacting specifications of the owner) and drove around a fair bit to find acceptable food.

 

Say the person came to retrieve their pet and brought thoughtful little gifts for the family as a way of saying "thanks."

When the person offers to pay you for the pet food you purchased, what do you do? Do you take the money or brush it off?

 

I told her I'd take the money. I even rounded the price down by almost a dollar. I know that she doesn't have much money, and I considered telling her not to worry about it, but then again she is the owner of the pet. She has made a choice to own said pet, so that should mean that she can afford to feed it. I on the other hand, used almost $10 out of my quickly depleting grocery budget for the month.

 

Dh was shocked that I took her money. He said I should've told her not to worry about it. I already told you what I think. I am usually not a cheap person by any means. I just didn't expect that agreeing to care for someone's pet means purchasing the food.

 

What do you think?:001_huh:

 

I'm sure I would have taken it. You were doing her a favor and that shouldn't cost you money. If she hadn't offered I probably wouldn't have brought it up or anything, but since she offered. Sure.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I would have taken the money. $10 buys bread, milk, cheese....

[Angela in TN]

Oh, I had it. I had left the whole bag of food in the pet store bag and the receipt was with it. She saw the bag, took the food out, and put it with her other stuff. Then she asked me how much it cost and I told her it was $9. It was actually $9.66 with tax, but I was trying to be nice. In hindsight I realize that I should've taped the receipt to the bag.

 

You were right to take the money and you can look at it as doing her a favor. Instead of having to rush to the store for pet food after being out of town you saved her a trip and offered a discount. :D

[angela in ohio]

I wouldn't have asked for the money, but if she had offered, I would have accepted it.

Another person's pet's specialty diet is not my responsibility.

 

 

Same here.

[fivetails]

I think it's different for everyone - depends on the relationship with the friend, how much something was, etc etc... someone else mentioned having a friend for which things "just even out" and that's what came to mind for me too - I'm actually pet sitting for a friend right now and if her food runs out (which it may - she stocked up, but it's for 5 weeks so she might not have gotten quite enough) I'll just grab some more and I'd never bother asking for money because we do things with/for each other all the time and it just works out. Coffee buying, meals out, stuff, whatever. She took my dd11 out recently (it was just as a tagalong with her for fun) and ended up buying her (dd) a skirt just because it was on sale and dd liked it... while before that, I bought her (friend) a stuffed animal I'd seen and knew she'd like... those sorts of things go on all the time with our two families. :)

 

That doesn't mean though that anyone should ever feel bad for wanting reimbursement - it all depends on the people & the situation. ;)

[bettyandbob]

I've done this. I keep the reciepts and give to neighbor. Once I thought they were out of bedding and I bought it at the local pet store. I was wrong, I missed seeing the bedding behind the door. My neighbor took my reciept and returned an unopened bag of the bedding to the pet store, because she buys it 50% cheaper elsewhere, but she doesn't expect me to seek out her discount place. She did pay my tolls and gas when I took her guinea pig to the vet, as well as vet and medication fees.

 

It doesn't matter that your friend doesn't have a lot of money. She would have had to pay for food had she been home. You did her a big favor taking care of the animal.

[magistramom]

I would have weighed this one...as we humans do in our own ways...

 

If taking care of the pet gave me something to look forward to each day, and if I genuinely cared for it (having feelings for the lil' thing) - I would have declined the money and lived off the intrinsic reward.

 

If I begrudgingly took on the task, and added up all the time it took me away from other things - I would have been more inclined to take the extrinsic reward in exchange for my "effort". (in real life, I would have declined the money)

 

When the details are not worked out ahead of time, and if task was not as enjoyable as you thought it would be, it is better to be gracious, and let your internal feelings stay, internal. You can decline taking care of the pet should another request come along in the future.

[Tammyla]

:iagree:

 

Yes, I would have taken the money, no qualms. As a pet owner I would have offered to pay.

 

What was the old saying I heard. It's polite to refuse the money the first time, but it's also polite to offer a minimum of three times. If they refuse to take the money on the third try they really are saying no.

[StaceyinLA]

We do a lot of pet-sitting and I would not spend out of my pocket for anything like that. Of course, we pet sit for pay for a lot of our neighbors too, but they have ALWAYS had sufficient food on hand.

[HollyinNNV]

I have to laugh because I would have done the same thing as you. My dh would have had the exact same reaction as your dh. I guess we are all "normal."

Holly