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My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

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Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Absolute idiots Agreed. You do three things in a crisis: 1) Acknowledge the problem. You killed someone's dog. This hits like losing family. "We're opening an investigation" is a chickenshit message. 2) CEO needs to speak. Personal call from the top. If a dog is seriously injured or killed while on your watch, the CEO must make the call. This shows seriousness to the customer. It also ensures top brass feels the pa…

There was a comment that is now removed that said: > Spoken like someone who's never lost family. in reply to the parent's comment that said: > You killed someone's dog. This hits like losing family." My comment will probably be flagged as well, but fine, I'll sacrifice some karma to show my support. I lost my mother due to cancer when I was eleven and I personally find it offensive when someone tells me they know "w…

As someone who has lost friends and family members, as well as pets, it feels the same.

I see this dichotomy quite a bit in the public discourse, regarding dogs especially, where 1/2 the world treats dogs as family and the other half thinks they are some play toy/object.

We have been living with wolves/dogs for a long time now, we're responsible for how they have evolved, and part of that is how they have evolved to bond with humans. It's not surprising to me that losing a dog feels like losing a child for some people.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this legal? They promised to pay for everything, and did not disclose additional terms at that time.

In general you can freely promise to pay someone else's bill and then not do it at all. There's no contract if you're not getting anything in return. It does make you an asshole though.

Citation?

The way I learned it is: Any statement of intent, no matter in which form, is creating a contract that you are bound to abide.

You sound like you would argue that it obviously was not a contract but a joke because 'why would a company pay something without getting anything in return'. But that would not hold. Companies spend a lot on customer relationship management. So the customer here could safely assume that the companies 'return' was a happier - in this case: less angry - customer.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a comment that is now removed that said: > Spoken like someone who's never lost family. in reply to the parent's comment that said: > You killed someone's dog. This hits like losing family." My comment will probably be flagged as well, but fine, I'll sacrifice some karma to show my support. I lost my mother due to cancer when I was eleven and I personally find it offensive when someone tells me they know "w…

As someone who has lost friends and family members, as well as pets, it feels the same. I see this dichotomy quite a bit in the public discourse, regarding dogs especially, where 1/2 the world treats dogs as family and the other half thinks they are some play toy/object. We have been living with wolves/dogs for a long time now, we're responsible for how they have evolved, and part of that is how they have evolved to…

I appreciate you responding and explaining your perspective, even though we may disagree on the issue.

> 1/2 the world treats dogs as family

Do you think that half the world, if given the choice between saving either their dog or a stranger's child in a disaster situation (e.g. a house fire), would choose their dog?

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has lost friends and family members, as well as pets, it feels the same. I see this dichotomy quite a bit in the public discourse, regarding dogs especially, where 1/2 the world treats dogs as family and the other half thinks they are some play toy/object. We have been living with wolves/dogs for a long time now, we're responsible for how they have evolved, and part of that is how they have evolved to…

I appreciate you responding and explaining your perspective, even though we may disagree on the issue. > 1/2 the world treats dogs as family Do you think that half the world, if given the choice between saving either their dog or a stranger's child in a disaster situation (e.g. a house fire), would choose their dog?

I have family friends who were unable to conceive.

They have had border collies all their lives, who were all astonishingly clever (not just "tricks", but just with intuition etc). These dogs are basically their children.

The "child" part of your hypothetical makes it difficult to know. I think they would save their own dog over an adult, however they are both very compassionate and love kids so I imagine it would be difficult to fight that human impulse to protect a child.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#255
post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I did some googling and like most things, "it's complicated." It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. As to what I said about killing a police dog having a harsher punishment, that was based on a…

> It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. Killing another person can get you life in prison or capital punishment (depending on state) that's way worse than 10 years.

There IS a law for 10 years. There ARE some states that make it like killing a human officer. The MAX for killing a person is death penalty.

See where your argument loses some teeth?

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#256
To be fair aren't most dog walkers paid extremely little? (Below minimum wage even)

Many of these services like uber are effective means to underpay people. It has upsides too, such as people having a job (beats having no job).

But I'm not surprised the walker didn't want to confront the client. Clients are very unlikely to be calm reasonable people in this situation.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has lost friends and family members, as well as pets, it feels the same. I see this dichotomy quite a bit in the public discourse, regarding dogs especially, where 1/2 the world treats dogs as family and the other half thinks they are some play toy/object. We have been living with wolves/dogs for a long time now, we're responsible for how they have evolved, and part of that is how they have evolved to…

I appreciate you responding and explaining your perspective, even though we may disagree on the issue. > 1/2 the world treats dogs as family Do you think that half the world, if given the choice between saving either their dog or a stranger's child in a disaster situation (e.g. a house fire), would choose their dog?

It wouldn't surprise me at all.

My dog is part of my family. She comes before any stranger.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Absolute idiots Agreed. You do three things in a crisis: 1) Acknowledge the problem. You killed someone's dog. This hits like losing family. "We're opening an investigation" is a chickenshit message. 2) CEO needs to speak. Personal call from the top. If a dog is seriously injured or killed while on your watch, the CEO must make the call. This shows seriousness to the customer. It also ensures top brass feels the pa…

There was a comment that is now removed that said: > Spoken like someone who's never lost family. in reply to the parent's comment that said: > You killed someone's dog. This hits like losing family." My comment will probably be flagged as well, but fine, I'll sacrifice some karma to show my support. I lost my mother due to cancer when I was eleven and I personally find it offensive when someone tells me they know "w…

Do we really want to create a hierarchy of grief, to say other people's pain is invalid?

I know that losing a pet hurts a lot more than losing a grandparent or aunt or uncle when they're not ever-present in your life. I have not lost parents yet, but at this remove in my life they are in many ways just people I used to know - my personality and values are quite different to them and I find it hard to empathize with their life choices. I think losing them would be similar to losing the little kitten I reared from a few weeks old. The actual relationship with my parents is mostly dead already, because it's been decades since we were close.

It's not about losing a human Vs losing an animal. It's about losing a relationship that is part of your daily life.

Re: My dog was killed on a walk with a walker ordered through Wag

#259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Missing from the discussion as far as I can see is mention of the walker’s behaviour. I don’t know what rules Wag have, but calling the owner as soon as possible and stating what has happened is a pretty basic thing to do. Deliver the bad news to those that need it as quickly and accurately as you can, with updates when appropriate. Not answering then lying is not ok, and whatever Wags’s rules are this shouldn’t have…

From what I know about Wag, it's sort of like Uber pool. You don't get your dog walked alone, a dog walker has the option to walk as many dogs as they can to maximise their profit. Add to this a matching algorithm that doesn't pair a consistent walker with your dog every day, and you get a situation where a new walker is pushed into taking more more responsibility than they probably should. This inherently puts dogs…

Their FAQ at https://wagwalking.com/faq claims:

> Do you walk my dog with other people's dogs?

>> No! Here at Wag!, your pup is our sole focus on each walk. We believe that each pup has different needs, and the best way to serve those needs is through a one-on-one experience. In the case that you have multiple dogs in your household, we will walk those pups together per your request.

So either that's a straight-up lie or you're confusing them with some other dog walking service.

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