‘If I didn't exercise her, she'd destroy the house and annoy everyone until someone shoved her back in her crate’: Rightfully enraged roommate forced to surrender neglected puppy back to the shelter after her irresponsible owner ignores their canine child

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    A few months ago my roommate decided he wanted to get a dog. I and my other roommates were fine with it, and I was excited I gave suggestions for a good fit for lifestyle and helped him search. I
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    knew I didn't have time for a dog, but I was eager to reap the benefits of having one in the house that wasn't my responsibility.
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    My roommate and I agreed that he was best fit for a low energy adult dog that was small/medium due to space.
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    Then he came home with a german shepherd mix from a shelter-- 6 months old, large, and very energetic. She was untrained and had separation anxiety. I did my
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    best to help, making suggestions like getting her a crate so she could have her own space and could go in there when everyone was gone. I picked up food
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    for him after my roommate ran out of what the shelter gave him and forgot to get more. I even exercised her when she got to be too much, taking her on walks or throwing balls. That was
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    Adolescent german shephard puppy smiling against gray background
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    probably my mistake, because almost immediately my roommate stopped doing anything for her.
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    He basically abandoned the dog to me. He wouldn't buy her toys, wouldn't exercise her, wouldn't even come home to feed her or let her out after work! I
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    talked to him several times, tried to get him involved, and tried to step back. But my other roommates were too busy and this guy would do nothing, if I didn't feed her, she wouldn't eat.
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    If I didn't exercise her, she'd destroy the house and annoy everyone until someone shoved her back in her crate. It got to the
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    point where my other roommates would come to me if they had issues with her, instead of the her "owner".
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    Juggling classes and a fulltime job, I was running myself ragged for a dog I didn't even want, so I gave my roommate an ultimatum. Take care of the
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    dog, or I would take her back to the shelter. My roommate laughed and said sure, and the next night I stayed in town after work to eat out with friends instead of going home to take care of his dog like usual. I got home around
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    11PM. The poor dog was in her crate COVERED in une and p p. He hadn't been home ALL day and clearly not let her out to go potty or fed.
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    I was furious. The next day I returned the dog to the shelter. I told them what had happened and showed them the pictures of the night before. They called
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    my roommate and told him they had reason to believe neglect and were enforcing co-ownership to take the dog. My roommate was furious, the rescue blacklisted him from adopting from any of their locations. When I got home
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    he shouted at me saying it wasn't fair and I should have told him I was serious instead of stealing the dog.
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    My other roommates, while happy the dog is gone, agree that it was an move to move so fast and not to have made sure he knew I was serious.
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    TBH, I thought I gave him plenty. I talked to him several times about stepping up and caring for the dog, and I didn't give him the ultimatum like it was a joke, he's the one who laughed it off.
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    german shephard puppy walking in a grass field
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    not sure if anyone will see this, but I wanted to get out there that after chatting with one of the non-dog owning roommates things have adjusted a bit around the house. She happened to see this post and recognize the situation, and wanted to apologize for
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    not having sided with me. Like many of us do, she believed the first story she was told, which was from our horrible roommate and not me. Apparently he told her that I had told him I was joking when I gave the ultimatum, and told him I liked helping out with the
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    dog and wanted to continue. With emotions high and our roommate highly angry, she was scared to disagree and told me she didn't think it was fair for me to not give better warning when he insisted she and our other roommate give our
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    opinions. And afterward, she just wanted to hide and not be involved. Since then, seeing my side of the story, she says she feels awful and realizes this is a flaw she should work on (not believing the first story she hears). We've actually grown a bit closer
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    through this, and we're talking about finding a place without the other two once our lease is up in January. I did call the shelter and ask about how the dog was and if our roommate would be able to go to other shelters to adopt, and they
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    said they have contacted all the other local shelters to let them know, and he will not be approved for any adoptions within a good radius of our town or from any of their places nation- wide. The good news is, the dog is doing okay and is already back to harassing people to play with her. :)

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