Rant re: friends

Sorry for the long story, but this ticks me off.

Back story: My friends Meg & Dan are married with two kids and moved from the city about 3 years ago for the suburbs. Dan and I are friends from college and past roommates, and I've known Meg for about 10 years. When they lived nearby, they had one dog, Fly, and got another puppy, Flea. Both were Border Collies. They never trained or gave attention to Flea and soon began complaining about bad behavior and habits. They seriously expected Fly to "train" the puppy. Fly was Meg's dog from before and was well-behaved. I told them they need to work with Flea. They paid a "dog whisperer" (BS, by the way) to tell them the same things we told them. They eventually decided to get rid of Flea, and when their first baby was born they got rid of Fly.

Meg's mom lives with M & D and their two kids since she has MS and has occasional episodes that require medical attention. Two weeks ago Meg called me and asked if we could board her mom's Yorkie, Lexy. She said she wanted us to train him while he's here because they're moving back into the city and Dan said the only way they can keep the dog is if he starts acting better. I explained to her that it doesn't work that way. Her mom is currently in the hospital, by the way. So she dropped Lexy off a week ago Monday and said she would return the following Monday to pick him up. Monday came and went, no Megan. I called her cell phone (they LIVE with their cell phones) and only got her voicemail. I left multiple messages asking when they were returning. Lexy was running low on food--not a problem since we have food, but a 4 lb dog should stick to his own diet. On Tuesday Lexy began showing signs of kennel cough. There's been a massive outbreak in Chicago, and thousands of dogs have had it. I took him to the 24-hour vet and they agreed to keep him overnight for me as a favor since I couldn't take him back to the kennel. I left more messages, before and after I went there. I told the vet that someone should be by early the next day for Lexy. Wednesday morning Meg left a voicemail on my phone apologizing for not getting back to me and she was sorry I had to deal with Lexy, and that her mom would probably be at the rehab facility another week and they wanted to work out "some arrangement" with us. I called her back and got her voicemail again. I let her know that Lexy was at the emergency vet and couldn't return to our kennel. He had to be picked up that day. Shortly after that, Meg's mom called me from the hospital. She told me Meg had just been in the city and the two of them went to lunch. I told mom the same thing, and she said that she would have Meg pick Lexy up from the vet. I thanked her, and she thanked me. It was a beautiful moment. I phoned the vet to let them know arrangements had been made.

Fast forward to 4am. My phone rings--I keep it next to me in the event of an emergency at work. I listen to the message and it's the emergency vet. They called at 1 am and 4 am asking when someone was coming for Lexy. At 6am the phone rang again and it was them once again asking when the owners were coming for the dog. I told them I thought someone had already been there, but she never showed up for the dog! Meanwhile, they have my credit card that's being billed for emergency room rate boarding. I was going to comp the kennel fees for my friends--10 days isn't cheap--and now it's flipped and I'm actually spending money for their emergency vet fees. I called the vet back and told them to call Meg's number so she can see how it feels to be woken up first thing in the morning by this BS. I sent her a text message also (she's obviously not answering her phone) telling her Lexy needs to be picked up, the vet is getting pissed at me calling all night and that I'm getting billed for this crap.

The kicker to all this is, Lexy is great little dog. He's only 2, isn't snarly or fearful. He likes other dogs, eats well. But Dan and Meg make him anxious, especially with the mom in the hospital.

 

I spoke to the mom this morning, and the sad thing is, she was defending them. She told me that she thought Dan picked Lexy up, but the vet was closed when I called to check, so I can't confirm that yet. She was saying that Megan was upset about having to care for "her" dog. Apparently the arrangement was that when the mom wanted to get a dog, she would be responsible for the care of the dog. Like they're talking to a child. Well, the mom has MS and finds herself in the hospital frequently, which is where she is now. I said that it's too bad that they don't allow dogs to come and visit, and she said that actually it is allowed...(cue sound of chirping crickets).

The mom kept apologizing on their behalf, and was torn up about the whole issue. I told her not to worry, and that she shouldn't apologize for anyone. She asked me not to think that they're anti-dog, despite the fact that they gave two dogs away and hate this one. The mom also said they're considering getting a larger dog for the kids when they move to the city. Sounds like a great idea, huh?

As far as friends, he used to be one of my roommates and we had some great times together. He works a lot, but they're basically self-involved as you can tell. We never see them since they moved away, so it isn't like we're tight these days.

 

I agree with everything that was said, I think. I'm not really expecting to get anything from these guys--really just wanted to indulge in a rant. But thanks for the comments.

 

Good point. I think the transition has definitely been completed