Am I wrong???

[Bounty Hunter]

So...I have a German Shorthair Pointer, and we go to friends house with dog and they come here, with their dog all the time. Yesterday we stopped by to see their new furniture...with our dog. We left him in the fenced in back yard, like a hundred other times. We walk out ten minutes later and the guy starts telling me he put out rat poison for critters getting in his garbage. He shows me his tuna and rat poison cocktail, in a bowl hooked to wooden fence and it is empty. Long story short, MY dog ate it!! We rush to Purdue animal hospital and during our 5 hour stay there, they text us worried about our dog. My girlfiend text back that maybe we could turn this in to their home owners to pay bill. (This was suggested by hospital)
The reply we got was "Are you f***ing kidding me!" WE have heard nothing from them since, no calls about health of our dog...nothing. Vet says he will be fine after a month of vitimin K. We got lucky.
I feel they should man up and pay bill, and I am more than unhappy with their response, and lack of human compasion here!
I am trying to figure out how to approach this short of a nuke strike.
Am I wrong here?????????

 

[Benny]

Where was your friends' dog during this time? Do they not let their dog out back?

 

[Darral27]

IMO you are right. What kind of people would forget they put poison in food and let your dog have access to it. That is insane. A good friend and/or a responsible person would offer to pay that bill.

 

[EvilBlackGun]

A mistake x 2= sad consequences. Can you manage to sit down with all family members and say how shocked and grieved you are, and let the other family try to apologize?? It's not a matter of money. Shame to lose a family's friendship over these two mistakes. Worth a try.

 

[Que]

IMO you are not wrong, but the use of modern day technology to communicate such a touchy issue may not have been the better choice. You should have talked it over face-to-face to let them know you weren't trying to harm them, but resolve the situation in an amicable manner.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Yes both dogs were out back, but their dog is not tall enough to reach that high on fence, he is a small terrier. He was checking out the ground under bowl and we thought maybe he got part of it also. The vet initially told us to use peroxide, to get them to vomit it up. theirs did, ours just gagged and hacked, so vet wanted us to come down there.

 

[buford t justice]

depending on the amount of poison ingested I may have not taken my dog to the vet,a small pack of decon is made to kill a few 1 pound rats not a 40 pound dog,but if the dog ate several of them thats a different story.

 

[sepe]

Maybe it is time to fire bomb?

 

[Benny]

Yes both dogs were out back, but their dog is not tall enough to reach that high on fence, he is a small terrier. He was checking out the ground under bowl and we thought maybe he got part of it also. The vet initially told us to use peroxide, to get them to vomit it up. theirs did, ours just gagged and hacked, so vet wanted us to come down there.

I figured that may be the case.

I absolutely don't think you were in the wrong, but I think Que has a good point...Maybe a text wasn't the best way to communicate in this situation.

I also think that their response along with them now ignoring you could possibly be them showing their true colors.

It sucks you might lose some friends, but maybe they weren't really "friends" anyway.



Edit: To further answer your question, if you were my friend and I allowed you to bring your dog over and forgot to bring the poisoned food inside, I'd offer to pay the vet bill without you even asking first.

 

[! twitty]

How good of friends were they? I would keep in mind that if it comes down to money some people will no longer be friends or act civil. It is sad but people often act different when it will cost them money.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

I am kind of at the fire bomb stage at the moment. He was being real vague on the amount and kind. He got it from work, and I think wooried it would come back to bite him. I wanted to be on the safe side, mostly from his actions.

 

[RichardR]

Not sure what to tell ya man.

I love my dogs but I am not sure that I would be mad at a friend if I took them over to their house & they accidentally ate "rat poison" that wasn't intended for them to eat.

Don't get me wrong I'd be all kinds of pissed off & worried about my dogs, but I wouldn't be pissed off at my friend for forgetting to tell me that he set out rat poison.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

I figured that may be the case.

I absolutely don't think you were in the wrong, but I think Que has a good point...Maybe a text wasn't the best way to communicate in this situation.

I do not like the text option either, but initially they were texting worried about dog, until the money came up. Texting is handy, but these guys will only communicate this way. We call, they do not answer, they text back.

 

[45calibre]

i think it was an accident and if he was really your friend 1) you would forget about it because accidents happen or 2) he will offer to pay because it was an accident.

its not like he intentionally put it out there so your dog can eat it.

 

[sepe]

I'd cut all ties and in a couple years when they've totally forgotten about you, rain fire from the sky. This wasn't a child or anything...it was a dog. Dogs are much better than people and if you're ignorant enough to leave poison out where even your dog could get it (even without knowing how the bowl was on the fence, something could have knocked it over), you deserve a fire bomb.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Not sure what to tell ya man.

I love my dogs but I am not sure that I would be mad at a friend if I took them over to their house & they accidentally ate "rat poison" that wasn't intended for them to eat.

Don't get me wrong I'd be all kinds of pissed off & worried about my dogs, but I wouldn't be pissed off at my friend for forgetting to tell me that he set out rat poison.

It would be different if he happened across something in the yard, but this guy intentionally put this out and was bragging about it, and showed his set up to me...Otherwise we would have never known the dog ate it. It was baited with tuna, to lure the animals to it. so it drew the dog into it as well.

 

[halfmileharry]

Pet owners are like protective parents. WE...WE get protective over our pets and emotions take over pretty quick.
SIt back a day or two and think about what's important. Hopefully your friend will too.
Glad the pooch is going to be fine.
Best of luck mending the strained friendship. You've got to figure out if it's worth saving or not worth the cost of a vet.
What's Important to you?

 

[RichardR]

It would be different if he happened across something in the yard, but this guy intentionally put this out and was bragging about it, and showed his set up to me...Otherwise we would have never known the dog ate it. It was baited with tuna, to lure the animals to it. so it drew the dog into it as well.

Yes that's true but he put that poison out for rat's to eat, not your dog.

Therefore there was no "mala en se" on your friends part - meaning that your friend wasn't intending your animal to be harmed.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Very true on the protective part. We adopted him about a year and a half ago. since then he has been my constant companion. Rides in the truck..Loves riding the four wheeler, even when snow plowing and cold. He goes camping with us, and just my buddy.

I understand he could have gotten into anything , anywhere, but their reaction and not even calling to see if the dog made it or not is just a kick in the teeth.

 

[jsnowy]

I love my dogs but I am not sure that I would be mad at a friend if I took them over to their house & they accidentally ate "rat poison" that wasn't intended for them to eat.

...but I wouldn't be pissed off at my friend for forgetting to tell me that he set out rat poison.

I agree. An unfortunate situation no doubt, but it was not his fault.