Who [is going to] let the dog out?

April 6, 2009 5:14 PM

I'm supposed to be there letting the dog out in about an hour but I'M NOT THERE!

I was supposed to be staying at a friend's house in another city this evening but couldn't go because of a sick child. We were to be taking care of the friend's dog for this evening and tomorrow morning because my friend is not going to be home this week. My friend arranged for a neighbor to take care of the dog for the rest of the time she's gone. I have the neighbor's email address and sent an email last night saying we wouldn't be there and to please let me know the email was received. So far, there's been no response. I tried reverse phone look-up and of course the neighbor's number is unlisted. I also called my friend's cell number but she's in the Outer Banks and I don't even know if she gets cell reception. What can I do to make sure the poor dog gets let out tonight??

Sorry if this is kind of all over the place. I'm just in a hurry because I was without any kind of computer access all day and now I'm worried about the dog and I don't know what to do!

posted by cooker girl to pets & animals (18 comments total)

Is there an emergency key outside the house so that a third party could theoretically let out the dog?

Do you have the phone number for your friend's mother or father or anyone else who knows your friend well?

You might be able to find the neighbor's address by using zillow.com - enter your friend's address, and nearby addresses might appear.
posted by amtho at 5:26 PM on April 6

Can you find contact information for any of your friend's friends in that city or anyone you know in that city? Via Facebook, maybe? Whether this works partially depends on where the key is...if it's in your hands things are harder; if they put it under the doormat you're much better off.
posted by phoenixy at 5:27 PM on April 6

If I were your friend, I'd come by, get the key from you (and maybe bring you something for the sick child) and go take care of the dog. Do you have a friend who can do this for you?
posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:29 PM on April 6 [2 favorites has favorites]

Can you figure out another neighbor's address and use reverse phone look-up to contact that person to either ask him/her to check that the first neighbor got the message (you could keep it a little mysterious--"I'm a friend of so-and-so, and she gave me [Neighbor's] e-mail, but I haven't gotten an answer, do you know [Neighbor's] phone number?") or (potentially a really bad idea) to go to your friend's house him/herself to let the dog out? Or, alternatively (and probably safer), can you find and contact one of your friend's nearby friends through facebook (or similar) and contact that person to ask if they'll fill in for you (and the neighbor)?

Also, you might think about trying the local police department to see if there's some kind of non-emergency person who could help in this situation. I know you can ask the police in my parents' suburb to drive by your house while you're on vacation, maybe there's something similar where your friend lives?

Those are the ideas I'd try if I were in your shoes.
posted by Meg_Murry at 5:29 PM on April 6

If all else fails, might you at least be able to find someone to look after your sick child while you go over to where your friend lives? I know it's not an ideal situation but maybe it would be useful in a worst-case scenario ... Alternatively, if the two of you have a mutual friend (someone you both know and trust), could you perhaps call that person up and offer to pay them to let the dog out for you?
posted by DingoMutt at 5:35 PM on April 6

I suspect that the reason that your friend arranged for you to take care of the dog tonight and tomorrow and the neighbor to take care of the dog for the rest of week is that the neighbor couldn't do it today, so I think you may want to start looking for another fill-in person (rather than hoping that the neighbor will check her email and cover for you).

I'm with Lesser Shrew --if I were your friend I'd get the key from you and go take care of the dog. Do you have any sympathetic dog-lover friends who might do that? Or maybe someone to sit with your child while you care for the kid? (On preview I see DingoMutt beat me to that one.)
posted by kate blank at 5:38 PM on April 6

Pertinent information: I'm a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from the other city.

I found nearby addresses and just did a phone lookup using them. Only one person was listed and they're not answering their phone!! Doesn't everyone have voicemail? Apparently not.

I have a garage door code to get in the house but I don't know anyone else nearby who could jump in and do this. Really. No one.
posted by cooker girl at 5:41 PM on April 6

Oh, also: the neighbor was already agreeing to take care of the dog for the whole week. My arrival was simply an added thing. So the neighbor is theoretically home, just not reachable.
posted by cooker girl at 5:43 PM on April 6

Is there an animal control officer in that town, or a humane society, or a pet rescue organization? You need to find an animal friendly organization that might be able to help.
posted by HuronBob at 5:48 PM on April 6

What about calling a dog walking service? Probably not possible since they haven't met the owner or dog before -- but you never know. Or someone half-way? Or.... post the city and see if people here know of any city-specific solutions?
posted by barnone at 5:48 PM on April 6

What city is this in? That would probably help a lot. Not that you're going to really want to send a stranger from the internet to your friend's house with the door code, but maybe someone knows a pet sitter or errand service in the area who could help.
posted by amtho at 6:01 PM on April 6

What about driving over there with your sick child and then driving back? Or staying there with the child?
posted by lockestockbarrel at 6:31 PM on April 6

Another thought, although this might just be so painfully obvious I shouldn't even raise it (my apologies if that's the case): would your sick kid be able to ride along in the car with you? I understand that 2.5 hours is a long drive for anybody but if it IS doable without harming your own son/daughter then maybe it's a viable option in the "absolute worst-case" scenario? I'm assuming here that "leave the dog to his/her own devices" isn't even an option (which I do hope is the case); other than that, I'm with the folks above who've suggested posting the city this dog is in just in case anybody here might be able to offer more concrete help ...
posted by DingoMutt at 6:36 PM on April 6

(Whoops, need to learn to preview in case someone else is saying the same thing, albeit far more succinctly, as I'm typing :P)
posted by DingoMutt at 6:37 PM on April 6

Certain priorities overrule a dog taking a crap in the house.

Take care of your kid, thank the neighbor who is going to watch the dog for the week and ask if there is anything you can do to return your , understandable, lapse in dog sitting.
posted by Max Power at 6:37 PM on April 6 [2 favorites has favorites]

Call the local police and ask them for a suggestion hoping one of them will do the neighborly thing and do it themselves. Just hope your friend has no illegal contraband in the house.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:38 PM on April 6

The dog will be hungry and crap in his crate, it's not ideal, but worse things have happened.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:08 PM on April 6

I can't thank you all enough for your quick and thoughtful responses.

I was able to contact a friend who lives about a half hour away and he was more than willing to let the dog out. I wasn't sure he would be home as his work hours are unpredictable.

As it turns out, as soon as he called me to let me know she was okay and had gone out and he was leaving, my friend called me from the Outer Banks and we had a good laugh about it because the best (worst?) part is that the neighbor's husband DID receive my email and they had let the dog out already! He just didn't bother to reply that the email was received.

Let this be a lesson to everyone: reply to emails when dogs are involved!
posted by cooker girl at 7:19 PM on April 6