Dog Sitter Wonders What To Say To The Owners After Their Dog Ruined Her $2,000 Coffee Table
She said she "feels bad" asking for compensation.
Leszek Glasner / Shutterstock A dog sitter is feeling conflicted after one of the dogs she was looking after destroyed an expensive piece of her furniture.
While she claimed she was not seeking compensation, she wanted the dog’s owner to be aware of his behavior in case they use a different sitter in the future who is less understanding.
The dog the woman was dog-sitting destroyed her $2,000 coffee table.
Jules (@inmyhelpmeera) often pet-sits for others, taking dogs into her home while their owners are on holiday. One week, she took in Richard, the dog, while his owner was traveling.
When Jules went to the grocery store for half an hour, she returned home to find her $2,000 coffee table destroyed. Richard had chewed up the sides of the table, and she was unable to fix it.
“So my question is, do I tell the parents?” she said in a TikTok video. “This coffee table is like the most expensive thing that I own, and it’s a really nice piece. We wanted to keep it for a very long time, and I don’t really know what to say to them.”
Jules admitted that she felt bad asking the owner for compensation.
She also added that this was the fourth time she had dog-sat for Richard, that he had never destroyed any of her furniture before, and that he was generally well-behaved.
Viewers encouraged the sitter not to mention anything to the dog’s owner if she did not expect compensation for the table.
“I wouldn’t mention it. I don’t think they would owe you any compensation with you choosing to watch other people’s dogs in your home because there is always a potential for things like this to happen,” one TikTok user commented.
“If you are not looking for compensation, then why bother bringing it up? If you want them to chip in for repair, then yes,” another user wrote.
“If you don’t expect them to pay, which they shouldn’t, then you would only be telling them to make them feel bad and yourself better. So don’t,” another user shared.
Dina Nasyrova / Canva Pro
Others pointed out that as a dog sitter who watched dogs in her own home, Jules should have been more prepared for the possibility of her furniture being ruined and urged her to either crate the dog whenever she left the house or keep them in a room without expensive furniture in it.
According to Pet Sitters International, destructive chewing is a common symptom of separation anxiety that sitters should be aware of. While this case does not seem extreme, Jules still assumed the risk of damage to her property by accepting the job, especially since Richard's behavior was not out of the ordinary for an animal missing his owner.
Jules told the dog owner about the coffee table just so they were aware in case he did it again.
Jules claimed that some dog owners are unaware that their dogs chew furniture or other items when they are not around which was why she decided to tell the owner about the coffee table incident.
“If the dog owner didn’t even know to buy them a crate, something very dangerous could happen,” Jules noted.
SeventyFour / Canva Pro
She also said that she did not ask Richard’s owner for compensation since it would put them in an uncomfortable position if they could not afford it.
As for the coffee table, Jules happily reported that it is “fine,” and only suffered minimal damage on the corners.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.