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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

#381

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While you're correct do note that not everyone can handle or wants to go through the pain of training a shelter dog. A dog you've raised from 8 weeks old is very different than a dog someone else has already abused and abandoned. Even if they're only 6 months old the habits have been learned and they're hard to break. Young puppies go instantly from shelters for that reason, and few people want to adopt a pit bull wi…

Yup. Both our dogs are shelter dogs and we love 'em, but in the newest dog's case--he's probably around three, we've had him for about six months--there are enough issues that a lot of people wouldn't want to deal with some people just couldn't, while still being very good caretakers of better-adjusted dogs. In ours's case: he's not a barker and he's incredibly gentle, but he's both dumb as a post (not the shelter-do…

> His pathfinding is just not good.

He’s optimized for minimum anxiety, not time or distance. Your dog’s pathfinding is _excellent_.

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

#382

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I don't think you understand the unconditional love that a dog has for its owner, and the commitment good people make when they choose to get one. For me it is moral and ethical that I put the safety and well being of my dog above people. That doesn't mean that I don't care about others, and it doesn't mean that I would ignore trying to save them once my dog was safe, but it is what is right for me.

Your moral compass is fucked. Dogs do not think and feel and live as humans do. Humans have thoughts, dreams, hopes, creativity, complex emotions. A rich inner life. Dogs have none of this. That you would prioritise your dog , rather than the life of a human child... is chilling to me. It's beyond selfish. Disclaimer: I have 2 dogs and 1 cat.

If you disagree, that's fine, but at least do so politely.

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

#385

Incredibly stupid decision to respond this way by Wag. How bad to you have to be at PR to screw this up? It's not hard. Liability in the case of harmed pets is extremely limited, so you just pay it all and apologize profusely. There's no way the bad press will be worth saving a couple thousand maximum. Absolute idiots.

> 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…

> The message must be we are sorry, this is unacceptable, and we intend on making this about as difficult for us as it is for you.

Wow! I’m saving this for my customer support toolbox.

This is how it should be done.

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

#387

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It wouldn't surprise me at all. My dog is part of my family. She comes before any stranger.

I can't argue with an opinion, but this is just mind-blowing to me. Judging by everyone else's comments, it doesn't appear like yours is an isolated opinion either. I'm just at a total loss for words. I had no idea so many people value animal life above human life.

You are straying from the original issue which is "is loss of different kinds relatable?" and not "is 1 form of life greater than another".

At what level on the spectrum does the offense creep in when someone tries to relate to the loss of a parent? Is sibling loss relatable? Half-sibling? Cousin? Brother-in-law? Where do we start the grief-gatekeeping?

If I lost 5 children and someone told me they lost a parent so they pat me on the shoulder and say they understand, can I be offended?

I have lost grandparents before, but felt nothing since I didn't know them. If someone told me they'd lost a grandparent close to them, I think it'd be offensive for me to say I could relate.

> I had no idea so many people value animal life above human life.

I think this is the problem. When people say they relate they are not claiming "my dog == your mom", merely that they have felt grief through loss of a relationship/bond. As emotional loss is relative, we don't currently have a way to measure if that loss meets threshold levels that make it acceptable for them to converse with us.

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

#388
post #365

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I think the incentives in play force companies to act callous. It seems to me that companies are wary to act with empathy lest they get sued and the court takes it as an admission of guilt (or at least evidence of culpability, or something the jury will pay attention to). It's like that old advice where you should never say "sorry" after a car accident (as a Brit, apologising is a natural impulse even when not at fau…

as a Brit, apologising is a natural impulse even when not at fault Someone explained it to me as when an American says "sorry" they mean "I'm sorry I did a bad thing to you" and when a Brit says sorry they mean "I'm sorry a bad thing happened to you". Which also explains the not uncommon American response to "sorry" of "Why? It wasn't your fault".

If I do something bad to a person I say sorry and it means "I'm sorry I did something bad to you".

If something that's out of my control happens to someone I might say sorry and mean "I'm sorry a bad thing happened to you".

I'm British and find that sometimes I think similarly to another person who is British, and at other times I think differently to another person who is British. It's wild.

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

#389

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>> I can’t tell which ones care Question - do you mean service companies that care (Wag/Uber/...), or service providers that care (DogWalker93/UberDriver93/...)?

Providers. I only hire child and pet care providers I have performed a background check on, I’ve vetted in person, and who come with references from others. I do not use ride sharing, pet services, Airbnb, or other such P2P platforms.

If people only hire people with references how does one get references?

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

#390

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I can respect that. You want to maximize the likelihood the dog survives. I call this "The Hard Problem of Delineation". You can't delineate between who will and won't kill your dog no matter what system you use. That's the problem. Though I take your point about the cold, uncaring, capitalist dog walker. Hmmm. Edit: now that I think about your point I can see what you mean. The "sharing economy (Uber for X)" has bec…

You want to maximize the likelihood the dog survives. Wag, however, has a huge financial incentive for the dog to die even if it could be saved, due to the cost differential between surgery and subsequent care vs. cremation cost.

This is an interesting point since the owner wasn't involved until the dog was dead we don't even know if any such decisions were made.
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