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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

#401
post #103
post #50

If he care the dog so much, the question is why is he trusting it to some stranger ?

Maybe he loves his dog such that he is willing to go out of his way and even pay someone to walk the dog when life outside of home happens.

But it is literally anybody using that service. Why not get a dog sitter then? Someone they will get to know personally?

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

#402
I agree losing a pet is like losing a family member and in certain circumstances much worse. I have had many losses in my life including family members best friends who have died in front of me as well as pets who have died from illness or old age. However never have I lost a pet through using a device that is supposed to make something easier for a pet owner to accomplish a set goal like walk a dog. I am not sure what this device is or why it was being used, if it was out of necessity or laziness. However regardless of either situation I agree and believe that a company that produced this product should show overwhelming support for the family that lost the dog and do whatever it is they can do to make it right. Since this company manufactures products for pets they need to take a stand showing how important animals are in there mission statement as well as their actions after this incident. Imagine how frustrated and pissed off people get when drug manufacturers raise prices on necessary drug just increase their profit margin. I believe this is both immoral and inhumane however people do have an option of where they will purchase their pet needs from and likely they will not choose a company that is not show a sense of compassion for the species they are creating products for. It would be a huge blunder on their image not take such a strong stance as stated in the comments above. Just like people not all pets mean the same thing 2 the same people. However when you do find a best friend in a four-legged creature there is nothing that differentiates them from other members of your family in my opinion. My dog was not only my best friend but he had helped me through many issues that my family had abandoned me on. Therefore when my dog passed away from cancer around the same time I had end-stage renal failure I felt a sense of relief that both myself as well as my best would likely die around the same time because for me there was no life without my dog. However unfortunately I did get better and my dog did not which I cannot hold anybody accountable for but I did suffer from severe depression and anxiety greater than any I have ever suffered from losing a fellow human being maybe that makes me a monster but that is honestly how I felt. To me a life is a life whether it is your dog your family a cat or any other animal. Not one species has more of a right to live then any other. I do understand that not everybody has the same experience or thinks the same way as I do in this situation or many others people often have conflicting morals or points of view which prove to be based on a specific person's experience , individuality and morality which another individual also commented below. What I do know for sure is that when given the choice of supporting a company or no longer supporting a company in effect boycotting them that should only be done when the company does not stand behind their product or the species they are manufacturing products for.

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

#403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Please tell me - where exactly do you draw the value of human life from? What exactly makes human life more valuable than any other life? I'm asking honestly, in the hopes that it's something less delusional than appeal to "soul" or "god" (which would immediately terminate all discussion, FWIW)

I believe we are spirit children of a Heavenly Father and have infinite worth and potential as his children.

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

#404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's not what "first world problems" means. That's for people making a big deal about trivial problems. This isn't trivial, it's terrible.

Why I agree this is terrible, you might want to reconsider your comment also. Pets are a luxury for well-off people. It is in no way a necessity of life like food, or a basic shelter.

what's your point? I'm aware of that, but the "first world problems" meme exists to point the finger at people who have so few real problems that they make a big fuss about trivial inconveniences (Starbucks ran out of skimmed milk so you had to use semi-skimmed, best blow it up on twitter). You're supporting a reduction where anything beyond "I'm dying" is a first world problem. Grief at the loss of a pet is not a problem reserved for those who are so privileged that they have lost all sense of proportion. Poor people get sad when their pets die too, but poor people don't generally express the extreme emotional fragility that "first world problems"-havers do, because they have actual problems to be concerned with.

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

#405

We had a similar (but thankfully, less serious) thing happen with Rover. We booked a dog sitter for 4 days with a woman named "Leslie". When we showed up to "Leslie's" place, the lady who we met did not match the person in the photo, and barely spoke any english. We were on our way to the airport, so I really didn't have a choice at that point but to leave our dog (I realize now I should have done more vetting, or me…

> These services like Wag and Rover have literally one job, and that is to make sure you trust the individuals watching your pet. I think this is where the key incentive misalignment is. These companies are rent-seeking, meaning they have a strong incentive to lower marginal costs. Vetting has to be the largest component of that so it's likely to be cut (or just dropped entirely). But the vetting is the entire point…

The vetting is 'crowd-sourced' with customer reviews, no? If 'Bill' thinks 'Leslie' is a great walker... what more should wag or rover need to do? Vet Bill now too!? That's just crazy talk...

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

#406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These services like Wag and Rover have literally one job, and that is to make sure you trust the individuals watching your pet. I think this is where the key incentive misalignment is. These companies are rent-seeking, meaning they have a strong incentive to lower marginal costs. Vetting has to be the largest component of that so it's likely to be cut (or just dropped entirely). But the vetting is the entire point…

The vetting is 'crowd-sourced' with customer reviews, no? If 'Bill' thinks 'Leslie' is a great walker... what more should wag or rover need to do? Vet Bill now too!? That's just crazy talk...

only if the company ensures that "Leslie" is one profile that is attached to one person. Reputation only works if it follows you, if you can create a new account or masquerade as another person (like in this case) then it doesn't work at all.

there should also be a certain barrier to entry so that e.g. people more likely to do something criminal or negligent instead won't get on the platform in the first place.

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

#407

We had a similar (but thankfully, less serious) thing happen with Rover. We booked a dog sitter for 4 days with a woman named "Leslie". When we showed up to "Leslie's" place, the lady who we met did not match the person in the photo, and barely spoke any english. We were on our way to the airport, so I really didn't have a choice at that point but to leave our dog (I realize now I should have done more vetting, or me…

> These services like Wag and Rover have literally one job, and that is to make sure you trust the individuals watching your pet. I think this is where the key incentive misalignment is. These companies are rent-seeking, meaning they have a strong incentive to lower marginal costs. Vetting has to be the largest component of that so it's likely to be cut (or just dropped entirely). But the vetting is the entire point…

That's not what rent-seeking means; I am not sure what you are trying to say.

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

#408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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'm going to say after reading some of the other responses that there's something seriously fucked up about the idea that you would save your dog. If you even, for a minute, thought that saving a dog with a life expectancy of 10-20 years tops living as a pet for someone's indulgence is remotely comparable to saving a child - who might live to 80 as an independent being - give yourself an uppercut. I'm a dog lover and…

This is exactly it!

Why don't people feel that they should sacrifice themselves and carry their grief and their emotional loss, and save the child?

I agree with some others in this thread, those that would save their pet are selfish beyond my wildest imagination. To save themselves the grief of losing a subjective family member they sacrifice human life for what is to outside observers just an animal.

Be as you want to be, but in this I feel justified in judging those people most harshly indeed.

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

#409
post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These services like Wag and Rover have literally one job, and that is to make sure you trust the individuals watching your pet. I think this is where the key incentive misalignment is. These companies are rent-seeking, meaning they have a strong incentive to lower marginal costs. Vetting has to be the largest component of that so it's likely to be cut (or just dropped entirely). But the vetting is the entire point…

That's not what rent-seeking means; I am not sure what you are trying to say.

yeah rent-seeking isn't quite the right term, but I'm not sure what is. The companies basically exist as low-touch facilitators that rely on high volumes and low marginal cost. Does that make it clearer? The reason I called them rent-seeking is that (if you remove the vetting aspect, which I believe they have) they don't actually do anything, they just charge a "tax" on top of a service rendered by someone else. If the company only makes, say, $100 per dogwalker on average and background checking costs $50, they'll cut the cost despite the primary use of the platform being to find a trustworthy, pre-vetted dogwalker.

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

#410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> I'm just at a total loss for words. I had no idea so many people value animal life above human life.

Many people manifestly value inanimate property, as long as it is theirs, over human life outside of close friends and family, so is it really a surprise that that is also true of family pets?

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