Hello, right now im really choked up with emotions because my dog is probably going to get put down today and I cant but feel guilty that I was part of the reason for her getting sick. Let me explain. I used to live with my grandmother about 6/7 years back and we decided together we wanted to get a dog. We got my dog who was a German Shepard mixed with some sort of other breed, so a mutt. Anyways things were fine for a while but at some point I picked up a second job and was out of the house 5/6 days a week and around 60-65 hours a week. I ended up moving back to my parents house because my grandma was very verbally abusive towards me. I would work all day and she’d be drunk, screaming and yelling at me. I got tired of it. For reference my parents and grandmas house is about a 5 minute walk away from eachother. I would occasionally pay for vet bills and food for my dog even though I wasn’t there most of the time. Last week I took her to the vet and found out she had jaundice, also a lot of bite marks on her from where she had chewed her skin raw from being allergic to something or not having her flea mednice, I am unsure. Fast foward today and my mom is saying that she’ll take her to the vet but she’ll probably be put down. I know that I dont have time for animals and I won’t get another again. You might be thinking we’ll why didnt you take her to your parents? Well my dad really dislikes animals so that wasn’t an option even if I begged. Im just feeling so emotional and I feel like this is all my fault, can someone just tell me if it is or not?
I’m sorry, but YTA. You essentially abandoned an animal you agreed to take care of. When you decided to leave your grandmother’s, knowing she likely wouldn’t care for it, you made no effort to find it a new home. You should be emotional about this, because you caused a living being suffering because you didn’t think it through.
Nothing here seems to remotely call for the dog being put down…
Totally, jaundice and skin irritation aren’t fatal. I feel for OP, this is a really sad situation, and I’m glad you’re reflecting on how to avoid a tragedy like this in the future. I know the ship has sailed, but you should always always think through getting a pet- figuring out who will watch it if you can’t, how your work schedule will affect it- especially such a high-energy and intelligent breed as a German Shepherd. Surrendering it to an animal shelter or another family is always an option, and probably a kinder one than putting it down for no reason.
You should make the time to go to the vet with your mom. Several things can cause jaundice and many are fixable. Also why were you not giving your dog flea medication? You live 5 minutes away. I think this is still fixable potentially if you go to the vet with your mom. After that look into rehoming the dog to a good family so that the dog can be better cared for going forward.
i’m really sorry you’re going through this, but you and your grandma should have rehomed him when his care began exceeding your capability. i would surrender the dog instead of paying for euthanasia— if the dog can be helped, it should be, even if your family can’t afford vet bills. it may feel like giving up, but it’s the right thing to do. ESH.
“i would occasionally pay vet bills and food for my dog” YTA. YTA. that is your dog, you do not adopt an animal without being able to pay for it, and then actually paying for it as well.
if you fall on hard times and need to lean on others that’s okay and unfortunate, but you don’t ever go into an adoption EXPECTING others (especially abusive parents that hate animals!) to pay for YOUR dog— it’s care is solely your responsibility as a pet owner. doesn’t matter that the grandma was abusive, because that’s just another reason for you to be self sufficient BEFORE you adopt any sort of life form.
you are a despicable person. you knew you didn’t have the time or money for an animal yet you bought one anyway and then foisted it onto your abusive relatives. F—- you. genuinely. despicable p o s. Surrender the dog to the closest no-kill shelter. Now.
It’s your fault , although I woudln’t call you the A. It’s your dog, so it’s your duty to care for her
No the vet won’t put your dog down. He has a flea allergy, needs proper flea treatment and a steroid injection to deal with the itchyness.
i don’t think the situation is grave enough for euthanasia, she would have chances with treatment – if you pay for it.
And i really don’t get why you didn’t puck your dog up for a walk every day. you work a lot and may be tired, but you know that your grandma is drinking and not able to take good care of your dog. and you live very close by, it really wasn’t that much effort.
But you decided to be lazy and ditch your responsibilities. so YTA.
Edit to go from YTA to your fault. I wouldn’t call you an AH, but irresponsible. You describe this as “my dog,” which tells me that this dog was solely your responsibility even though you made the decision to get a dog with your grandparents. If this is not true then you may not be TA. You knew your dog was suffering, and you didn’t try to find a solution. Although harsh, you should have taken your dog to the humane society to hopefully to find an owner with more time and could of provided better care. It’s not the dog’s fault you were going through a lot.
YTA
I’m sorry you’re going through this but it’s a lesson to learn that if you’re going to take on another living thing, then you need to make time and effort for them and you can’t neglect them. You should have rehomed the dog. You escaped and left behind the dog alone with your verbally abusive grandma. You don’t even have time to take the dog to the vet and is having your mom take the dog but you’re here crying. Go make time for this dog and see what the vet has to say. If the dog does not need to be put down, then find a place that will care for it.
Honestly, YTA. Once you realized you couldn’t properly care for your pet you should have surrendered them to an animal shelter, or found a better home for them. Not left them with your alcoholic abusive grandma. If the situation was bad enough that you wanted out, why did you think your dog deserved to stay there?
YTA. I’m sorry to hear you are going through this, but you have to understand that this is, in fact, your fault. I don’t understand why jaundice is going to be fatal for your dog, but it sounds like there is a bunch of care that is being deprived from your dog due to negligence. You need to shoulder this pain and take it as a lesson of what not to do when you own an animal and find out what a dog needs to thrive.
YTA thas pure inexcusable neglect. You think being busy means you don’t take the dog to the vet or make sure its getting the care it needs? You should be feeling guilty