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Redditor Refuses To Dogsit For Free Despite Sister’s Offer To Let Them Live Rent-Free If They Do

A woman walks with two dogs
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Dogsitting can be a very lucrative thing to do for a career or even as a side thing.

Even if you’re doing it as a favor, it can lead to some nice options.

But how much is enough, or too much?

Case in point…

Redditor FreeDogSitter to discuss their experience and get some feedback. So naturally, they came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.

They asked:

“AITA for asking to be paid for 6 months of constant dog sitting?”

The Original Poster (OP) explained:

“My sister, Alice, owns a flat with her husband, and they have 2 dogs.”

“Alice got a job abroad, so they are moving there.”

“They don’t know what to do with the 2 dogs yet, so their current plan is to move abroad and wait a few months (up to 6) to decide if they even like it there or if they want to come back home.”

“If they like it there, they will try to find a way to move the dogs there with them, but if it’s not possible, they will rehome them in our country.”

“I’m 21 years old, still attending University, and I live with my mom.”

“I really want to move out and live alone, but I can’t afford it.”

“Alice made me an offer.”

“I can live in their flat for free for 6 months, no rent, no utilities, but I have to take care of their dogs.”

“I’ll have to walk them for hours every day, take them to the vet, etc.”

“She said they will pay for anything dog related and will pay for doggy daycare for a few days during my exam periods or if I want to go on a vacation.”

“I like her offer, her flat is much closer to my university, but taking care of 2 dogs is a lot of work.”

“I think it’s reasonable to want to be paid for the work I do.”

“If I didn’t have to take care of the dogs, I could get a part-time job, if I wanted to.”

“So I feel like I should be reimbursed for that.”

“Alice and our mom say that being allowed to live in her flat for free is already enough, and I’m being unreasonable and money hungry.”

“When they told me this, I laughed at them and told my sister she could try to find another dog sitter then, and I know I’m her best option.”

“Now they are mad at me.”

“So AITA?”

Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:

  • NTA – Not The A**hole
  • YTA – You’re The A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everyone Sucks Here

Many Redditors declared OP WAS the A**hole.

“YTA, you will live rent-free and utilities-free, alone in a flat closer to your Uni.”

“Try googling how much you’d have to cough up in cash to do the same, and BAM that’s how much you are paid for dogsitting.”

“With the current economy situation, I imagine the some won’t come up low.”  ~ Ok_Yesterday_6214

“Definitely YTA here for a complete lack of self-awareness.”

‘You can’t have your cake (free rent, utilities, etc.) and then expect your sister to pay you to look after the dogs in exchange for that.”

‘If you don’t want to look after the dogs, get your own flat, pay for it, and deal with the stress of struggling to have a roof over your head versus taking dogs to walk twice a day for 15-20 minutes.”  ~ ibex2500

“Plus working on top of doing her studies.”

“Spoiled wants it all.”

“Free lodging, no expenses, and money to burn.”

“YTA. Big time.”

“Let your sister know I’m available.” ~ RavenLunatyk

“It’s hard to feel sorry for her.”

“It’s not like she realized she was acting entitled. Nope.”

“She just found out she wasn’t the only option, and she lost what she thought was a sure thing.”

“Hard YTA OP.”

“You didn’t even realize your error for the right reasons.”  ~ AffectionateGolf6032

“You do realize how much rent for even a basic apartment costs right?”

“Plus water, electricity, and internet bills?”

“And on top of that, there will be no personal costs for the dogs.”

“That’s way more money in bills than you would be getting paid in dog-sitting money anyways, even if she did, for some reason, agree, and you really wanted to move out, right?”

“Well unfortunately, now you are not getting that option, because she is going to get another sitter now that you have shown yourself off to be ungrateful of an offer most wouldn’t give, and kind of an idiot for burning such a good offer.”

“Plenty of people would kill for 6 months of free living with the only cost of time spent taking care of dogs, you are very much replaceable there. YTA.”  ~ oblivious_fireball

“What’s crazy about OP’s logic is, they probably still have time to get a part-time job and take care of the dogs.”

“Unless these are puppies, the dogs should be trained enough to leave for a few hours a couple of nights a week to go to work.”

“I’m not saying OP can work a 40 hours a week job, go to school, and care for the pups, but he could pick up 15 hours a week somewhere.”

“And then that is just spending money since the sister is covering all the bills.” ~ Historical_Divide673

OP came back with an Update:

“Okay, I f**ked up.”

“I really thought Alice didn’t have any other options.”

“My brother just told me she is now talking to our cousin, who lives 2 hours away but wants to move to our city.”

“They are even talking about possibly making it a long-term thing and cousin being allowed to stay after the free 6 months is up for reduced rent, only having to pay an equal amount to their mortgage, which would normally only rent him a room.”

Reddit continued…

“YTA. maybe a compromise, maybe they charge you rent and then pay you to dog sit, and you may realize how unreasonable you are being.” ~ 1987galpal

“Where I live, the average dog sitting rate of pay would still cause this fool to be several hundred in debt per month for a nice clean studio apartment in a safe neighborhood.”

“And somehow, I doubt he’s living in such a cheap region of the world, nor has a cheap studio apartment.”

“OP has no clue in the slightest what kind of bridge he just torched LOL.”  ~ oblivious_fireball

“YTA for expecting to be paid monetarily when you’re being paid well beyond that in apartment and utilities.”

“The amount of money you’d be saving by not paying for rent and utilities is well, well beyond what your labor is worth for taking care of the dogs.”

“Alice could easily sublet her apartment and put her dogs into daycare and get good money for those months.”

“But she’s offering you an amazing deal for you instead, and you’re being very greedy to ask for both the apartment and utilities that she’s paying for and money for your time.”

“Your family is correct, you’re acting incredibly spoiled and money hungry.”  ~ typoincreatiob

“Wow… I mean definitely YTA.”

“You laughed in their faces for stating the obvious?”

“You are getting a free apartment for 6 months that would make your life easier.”

“If they were to pay you for doggy sitting it would still end up much lower than the rent.”

“You are being absolutely greedy and a bad sister.”

“Family helps each other, and they don’t expect to be paid.”

“You are being paid for it (by having no rent), and you still want more? Just greedy.”

“You need to apologize.” ~ Reasonable_Bill_8159

“YTA. They are giving you a great deal.”

“Why don’t you have them charge you full rent and take out the amount they owe you for taking care of the dogs, if you feel like you’re being cheated so badly?”  ~ Available_Beat82727

“YTA. As I am reading it, your sister owns the flat, so rent technically isn’t a thing.”

“BUT You have a nice chance of risk-free living on your own for 6 months without paying a cent to have a roof over your head.”

“You only have to walk 2 dogs for like 2 hours a day.”

“And you even get days off!”

“You could not ask for a better preparation for life than that.”  ~ Left_Moose_9550

“YTA. Not only was she offering to pay you in kind, i.e. not with money but with free lodging, but you laughed in her face rather than politely turning her down if it didn’t suit you.”

“There’s any number of reasons it might not work – it’s just six months, for example, and you might not be sure what happens after, or you might not want to do an extended house and petsit.”

“But there’s no reason not to just say no but thank her for the offer.”

“You would not get a flat with the wages from a part-time job, and asking her to pay you essentially twice – once with free lodging and once with a wage – is an AH move.”

“She could just make a short let for slightly more hassle, earn money from whoever rents, and use it to pay for dog boarding.”  ~ Mumique

“YTA. If you wanted to get a job and move out, you would have already done this.”

“I think she should reconsider her offer to you and find someone else.”

“I don’t think it would be too difficult to find someone that wants free accommodation plus utilities for the price of looking after 2 dogs.”

“You seem to know best so go get that job.” ~ CoolMoose9566

Well, OP, Reddit is having some issues with your choices.

You may want to do a lot of rethinking… if you even have the opportunity anymore.

At least have a chat with your sister, so this doesn’t cause any family rifts.