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The neighbor's dog went inside their house, and the neighbor scolds you for doing so.

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T

Tony Iron Man Stark

Banned
Icefire1424 said:
Alright, I'm going to take a shot at translating this. Hold on to your butts.

"I recently went over to my neighbors house. During my previous visits I've noticed that their family dog doesn't seem to get much attention, so I decided to to bring the dog indoors to play, despite a house rule stating that the dog is to be kept outside. In hindsight, I suppose I understand the need for the rule, as the dog does shed quite a bit this time of year. I'm not sure why a family with an aversion to dog hair would have acquired a canine known for its excessive shedding in the first place, but I digress.

The day after my visit, I was called over to my neighbors home. It seems my neighbor, a recently divorced mother of two, was quite upset that I let their dog in the previous day. You see, while the dog was indoors, it shed some fur, as dogs tend to do. That fur ended up on the floor, on the couch, and generally speaking, all throughout their abode. Clearly frustrated, my neighbor chastised me for allowing poochie into her home, demanding that I vacuum the dog hair which was strewn about.

Knowing that I was at fault for the dog hair, I obliged to her request, and spent over an hour vacuuming away all trace of the pups' presence. However, I can't help but feel a bit slighted in how I was treated, especially considering I have recently offered up my assistance to the family. For example, only two weeks ago I picked up my neighbors daughter from school when she needed to get home, and recently watched her during skating practice to ensure there would be a familiar face in the crowd. Additionally, as I happen to be good friends with me neighbors son, I felt obliged to take responsibility for the dog's mess, even if the neighbor's request for me to clean up was done so in a less than respectful manner.

And so I ask, dear reader, is how would you have responded if you found yourself in a similar predicament? Would you have cleaned up after the dog, nary a response in your defense despite some demeaning comments from your neighbor, or would you have stood up for yourself, instead informing said neighbor that you don't appreciate her comments, and perhaps suggest that she should pound salt for treating you in such a disrespectful manner?

Inquiring minds want to know.
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Sounds a lot more literate than mine.
 
D

digdug2k

Member
Jarlaxle said:
The dog is not an indoor dog. The OP knows this and willingly let the dog inside. Owner gets upset and asks him to clean the mess.

I don't see anything wrong with what the owner does up until this point.

The scolding may be a little far but there are things that aren't clear here either like how old the OP actually is, if he has been told multiple times not to let the dog inside, etc and how bad the "scolding" actually was.

If you aren't happy with the situation, stop doing favors for your neighbor and leave their dog and kids alone.
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Was it not an indoor dog, or do they just not let it in when its shedding a lot?

Regardless, the neighbor is a bitch. Sorry you have a relationship with her daughter or you could just cut the whole relationship off. I mean, its one thing if friends came over and trashed my house, I'd sorta expect them to clean. But if a friend comes over and leaves a plate out or spills something, that's just sorta the cost of having friends. Like that's happened to me a million times. Everyone (EVERYONE) normal says "Oh, its no problem. I'll get it. Could you just use a coaster. They're over there". You spend some time cleaning when they're gone.

Any adult who's going to lecture another adult (and holy shit, force them to clean their house) because "respect" is a child with no idea what respect actually means.
 
T

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
You actually vacuumed the room? I'd have said fuck off with that shit. If they didn't want the dog in the house they should have said it before.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
So you're not grown. This explains a lot, my apology for the earlier assumption.

Tony Iron Man Stark said:
My best friend and I are in late teens. He has odd working schedule and he is sometimes away with his girlfriend.

She is right and I did disrespect her house rule, but I wish she was nicer because of favors I did recently and of the date. Nice as in the scolding part and her tone.
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Pro-tip: It's not a favor if you expect something in return. That's a transaction. If you want something for babysitting, ask for money. You aren't friends, she's an adult and she sees you as a child. Children get scoldings when they misbehave.

If you knew the house rule, don't knowingly break it. I'm guessing she felt that you leaving the house a furry mess kind of crosses out the fact that you were babysitting. Kind of the same way that scratching a car would cancel out picking up someone's groceries.
 
G

Gravy Boat

Member
digdug2k said:
Was it not an indoor dog, or do they just not let it in when its shedding a lot?

Regardless, the neighbor is a bitch. Sorry you have a relationship with her daughter or you could just cut the whole relationship off. I mean, its one thing if friends came over and trashed my house, I'd sorta expect them to clean. But if a friend comes over and leaves a plate out or spills something, that's just sorta the cost of having friends. Like that's happened to me a million times. Everyone (EVERYONE) normal says "Oh, its no problem. I'll get it. Could you just use a coaster. They're over there". You spend some time cleaning when they're gone.

Any adult who's going to lecture another adult (and holy shit, force them to clean their house) because "respect" is a child with no idea what respect actually means.
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It's not really like accidentally spilling something, or not knowing to use a coaster. Those are honest mistakes. It's more like asking your friend to take his shoes off, then he doesn't and trails mud over your new carpet. Being told 'hey don't let the dog in the house' then doing it anyway is a deliberate disrespecting of someone else's rules in their own house.

I'd love to know what was said during this 'scolding'. She has a right to be annoyed and ask OP to clean it up.
 
A

acohrs

Member
Such confused. Much error. So sad.

giphy.gif
 
SDCowboy

SDCowboy

Member
If my neighbor asked me to come over just so they could yell at me, and then had the audacity to ask me to vacuum their house, I'd straight up laugh in their face and tell them they can go fuck themselves.
 
P

parrotbeak

Member
Icefire1424 said:
And so I ask, dear reader, is how would you have responded if you found yourself in a similar predicament? Would you have cleaned up after the dog, nary a response in your defense despite some demeaning comments from your neighbor, or would you have stood up for yourself, instead informing said neighbor that you don't appreciate her comments, and perhaps suggest that she should pound salt for treating you in such a disrespectful manner?

Inquiring minds want to know."
Click to expand...
When you put it that way, is the neighbor hot?
 
J

Jenov

Member
So this is a 15 year old who messed up his friends mom's house by letting the dog in and she scolded him to clean it up?
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Unless you got paid, not sure why you'd listen to your neighbor's demands. Say vacuum your own house, I won't help out anymore. Even if you got paid I still wouldn't.

Edit: OP is a teenager. If you're over 18 though, I still say it applies.
 
B

Bread

Banned
hey_it's_that_dog said:
You're good friends with her kid and her ex who is presumably a generation older than you?

You're an interesting guy, Mr. Stark.
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How OP is writing this: "My neighbor is divorced and I am good friends with her ex-husband."
How anyone else would write this: "My friend's parents are divorced and I hang out with him and his dad sometimes."
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Nepenthe said:
If not wanting my home to be made unnecessarily filthy by a teenager who knowingly broke a house rule I clarified beforehand is divorce worthy, then I'm not marrying.
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She has a right to be upset. But the correct course and rational course would have been to clean up the mess herself.

She then would have had the choice of calling the person and telling them how upset they were at the mess.

Then she would decide if she would want the OP to watch the house again. You don't demand people around unless they are your kids or on the clock.
 
J

Jeronimo Jones

Member
So finally most of the important details are out...

A kid/teenager who makes a mess at someone else's house is usually expected to clean it up at the mercy of the adults/owners of the house. Especially if the kid already knows the rules.

An adult who makes a mess at someone else's house may be expected to clean up or at least offer to clean but can refuse if they are not worried about potentially damaging the relationship over it. If scolding or berating is included, many adults would instead remove themselves from the situation.
 
N

Nepenthe

Member
rjinaz said:
She has a right to be upset. But the correct course and rational course would have been to clean up the mess herself.

She then would have had the choice of calling the person and telling them how upset they were at the mess.

Then she would decide if she would want the OP to watch the house again. You don't demand people around unless they are your kids or on the clock.
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Telling people to clean up after themselves on your property is also a valid course of action, because functioning teenagers/adults should know not to be slobs on other people's property or to break the house rules because "fuck you."
 
Apocryphon

Apocryphon

Member
This woman is your neighbour, but your relationship is actually best described as her being your friends mother. She isn't your friend; you don't socialise with her... you babysit for her. You were asked to look after a kid, knowingly broke the owners house rules, then got a bollocking and made to tidy up. Is that about right?
 
Mato

Mato

Member
That reads almost like Nigerian prince email.

"Could you mail my neighbor's dog on my behalf and ask for compensation?"
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Nepenthe said:
Telling people to clean up after themselves on your property is also a valid course of action, because functioning teenagers/adults should know not to be slobs on other people's property or to break the house rules because "fuck you."
Click to expand...

I'm not disagreeing with you about that?

You don't get to tell anybody else what to do though, and calling them over and demanding they vacuum is too much.
 
N

Nepenthe

Member
rjinaz said:
I'm not disagreeing with you about that?

You don't get to tell anybody else what to do though, and calling them over and demanding they vacuum is too much.
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You said the correct and rational course of action would be to clean up the mess herself. I disagree; it's one of the correct and rational (and passive) courses of action. Another equally correct course of action is to tell this teenager to pick up his mess, and to berate him for knowingly breaking a rule she established beforehand.

Also, you do get the right to tell people, particularly teenagers and children, to clean up after themselves. That's kind of the perk of having your own stuff.
 
E

echoshifting

Banned
Majik said:
This woman is your neighbour, but your relationship is actually best described as her being your friends mother. She isn't your friend; you don't socialise with her... you babysit for her. You were asked to look after a kid, knowingly broke the owners house rules, then got a bollocking and made to tidy up. Is that about right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, this sounds like a more accurate framework of the situation than what is in the op.

edit: man, given op's age, I'm dying to know what the 9/11 angle everyone mentioned was in the original op
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Nepenthe said:
You said the correct and rational course of action would be to clean up the mess herself. I disagree; it's one of the correct and rational (and passive) courses of action. Another equally correct course of action is to tell this teenager to pick up his mess, and to berate him for knowingly breaking a rule she established beforehand.
Click to expand...

You have no authority over a teenager that is not yours. Whether you think you do are not. Therefore you should not make demands of them. Call their parents if you want it done. You can ask them to clean it up.
 
G

Goliath

Member
Dude, even as a late teen this is ridiculous. She is taking advantage of you. You do favors for her and for the smallest mistake she runs you through the coals...nope. She doesn't respect you or appreciate the help you provide. Your not her kid and owe her nothing.

It doesn't matter if your friends with her ex and son, don't be available to help her...ever. She wants to be petty, this is what petty gets. You never got paid for the help you provided and all it took was one mistake and she is there with a punishment. Have some respect for yourself and don't help her.

Life lesson: Don't be the overly nice guy. I know TV makes it seem like it works out for them and the girls realize that they are better off with them but that isn't what happens in real life. In real life people ask more and more of you while not reciprocating and you begin to resent them and most likely won't confront them with the problem. Eventually they will be done using you up and you will have nothing to show for it. You can be helpful but respect yourself and your time or they won't.
 
X

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
echoshifting said:
Yeah, this sounds like a more accurate framework of the situation than what is in the op.

edit: man, given op's age, I'm dying to know what the 9/11 angle everyone mentioned was in the original op
Click to expand...

He thinks that she should have not scolded him on 9/11, which is completely weird.
 
G

Goliath

Member
Nepenthe said:
You said the correct and rational course of action would be to clean up the mess herself. I disagree; it's one of the correct and rational (and passive) courses of action. Another equally correct course of action is to tell this teenager to pick up his mess, and to berate him for knowingly breaking a rule she established beforehand.

Also, you do get the right to tell people, particularly teenagers and children, to clean up after themselves. That's kind of the perk of having your own stuff.
Click to expand...

You asked a free favor from a teenager. You get what you pay for. If the worse thing she has to do is clean up her own dog's hair that isn't a big deal and disciplining a teenager for something this small is petty.
 
N

Nepenthe

Member
rjinaz said:
You have no authority over a teenager that is not yours. Whether you think you do are not. Therefore you should not make demands of them. Call their parents if you want it done. You can ask them to clean it up.
Click to expand...

I'm not calling the parents of a teenager who has the physical capability of picking up after himself, especially since I already trusted that teenager to babysit my children. I'm calling the teenager to pick up after himself. Talk about coddling.

Goliath said:
You asked a free favor from a teenager. You get what you pay for. If the worse thing she has to do is clean up her own dog's hair that isn't a big deal and disciplining a teenager for something this small is petty.
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A free favor to babysit doesn't inherently come with the caveat of messing up someone's home by knowingly disregarding a rule set forth beforehand.

And it might not be a big deal to you, but clearly she cares more about the cleanliness of her place than that, which she is entitled to do.

EDIT: It's weird that people seem to think it's being taken advantage of to be told to clean up your own crap. If someone else had let the dog in, and he was told to clean it on the basis of having babysit for free beforehand, then I would say she's definitely using him as free labor. But telling a teenager, basically a big child, to take care of the business he knowingly left in your house? Sounds like bollocks to me. Perhaps I was just raised differently, but it seems unfathomable to me that I would ever get away with something so disrespectful in my friends and neighbor's houses.
 
P

Pastry

Banned
Goliath said:
Dude, even as a late teen this is ridiculous. She is taking advantage of you. You do favors for her and for the smallest mistake she runs you through the coals...nope. She doesn't respect you or appreciate the help you provide. Your not her kid and owe her nothing.

It doesn't matter if your friends with her ex and son, don't be available to help her...ever. She wants to be petty, this is what petty gets. You never got paid for the help you provided and all it took was one mistake and she is there with a punishment. Have some respect for yourself and don't help her.

Life lesson: Don't be the overly nice guy. I know TV makes it seem like it works out for them and the girls realize that they are better off with them but that isn't what happens in real life. In real life people ask more and more of you while not reciprocating and you begin to resent them and most likely won't confront them with the problem. Eventually they will be done using you up and you will have nothing to show for it. You can be helpful but respect yourself and your time or they won't.
Click to expand...

I think this is sarcasm? I hope this is sarcasm? I actually can't tell with GAF anymore.
 
S

super-famicom

Member
Tony Iron Man Stark said:
There wasn't a lot of mess, so I didn't see them. The dog's fur and the couch are similar in color. I only saw 2 golf ball sized fur while vacuuming.

I didn't pick up much dog fur after vacuuming everything on a couch, pillows, and underneath the couch. I mostly vacuumed dust.
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Tony Iron Man Stark
Mostly vacuums dust
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Nepenthe said:
I'm not calling the parents of a teenager who has the physical capability of picking up after himself, especially since I already trusted that teenager to babysit my children. I'm calling the teenager to pick up after himself. Talk about coddling.



A free favor to babysit doesn't inherently come with the caveat of messing up someone's home by knowingly disregarding a rule set forth beforehand.

And it might not be a big deal to you, but clearly she cares more about the cleanliness of her place than that, which she is entitled to do.

EDIT: It's weird that people seem to think it's being taken advantage of to be told to clean up your own crap. If someone else had let the dog in, and he was told to clean it on the basis of having babysit for free beforehand, then I would say she's definitely using him as free labor. But telling a teenager, basically a big child, to take care of the business he knowingly left in your house? Sounds like bollocks to me. Perhaps I was just raised differently, but it seems unfathomable to me that I would ever get away with something so disrespectful in my friends and neighbor's houses.
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Coddling? If you think you can demand other people to do things, even late teens, then we'll just have to disagree fundamentally. That's not even considering the context which you seem to ignore that the OP is in the habit of doing favors for this person.

Oh and it absolutely would be a big deal to me. I think you're missing the point entirely. I would be pissed. I would complain. But no, I would not call over that person so I could scold them and demand they clean up like they are my child. They are not.
 
G

Goliath

Member
Nepenthe said:
I'm not calling the parents of a teenager who has the physical capability of picking up after himself, especially since I already trusted that teenager to babysit my children. I'm calling the teenager to pick up after himself. Talk about coddling.



A free favor to babysit doesn't inherently come with the caveat of messing up someone's home by knowingly disregarding a rule set forth beforehand.

And it might not be a big deal to you, but clearly she cares more about the cleanliness of her place than that, which she is entitled to do.
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This is a grown woman using the services of a teenager for free on more than one occasion because her son is his best friend. She doesn't pay him for his time or even respect him. Unless one of my neighbors was a poor old lady I wasn't doing this kind of stuff for free. I babysat, mowed lawns, coached basketball, helped move and other odd jobs for neighbors for a fee. It wasn't much but I valued my time and they did too.

For her to act like this after repeatedly using this kid for her benefit for free is petty.
 
G

Goliath

Member
Pastry said:
I think this is sarcasm? I hope this is sarcasm? I actually can't tell with GAF anymore.
Click to expand...

Not sarcasm. What do you disagree with? If a neighbor wants a teenager to watch their kid, house etc. they could at least throw a few bucks their way. Not use their services for free. You don't ask other peoples kids for a favor as an adult.
 
P

Pastry

Banned
Services of a teenager lol.

Y'all acting like he's out there doing pro bono legal work for this lady. You want money, you ask for it before you do something.
 
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