As some of you may know, I recently (a few months) moved from Washington back to Michigan to take up residence with my grandparents for a while so we can get back on our feet.
Of course I come home to tons of drama, mostly due to the divorce of my uncle and his wife, the birth of his 2 twin babies from the woman he was seeing on the side, and the fact that they dumped 2 of their animals on my grandparents.
These two animals are a fairly large dog and a sweet little bunny. The reasoning behind this was so that my other cousins from his original marriage wouldn't have to completely "give up" their pets.
At first I thought this would be an excellent change from the destitute ways they were living in, with Penny (the dog) being locked in the small laundry room all day and the rabbit just having run of the house with two children terrorizing it all day...
But I've come to realize that nobody here cares about them either... Penny spends all of her days leashed to the coffee table in the living room. I understand that my Papa (great grandpa) is about to turn 90 years old and that it could be DEVASTATING if that dog jumped up on him, but that's all the more reason that it's time to rehome her.
Why don't they rehome her? Well one..because of the children, and two..because my Aunt (who is 34 years old and living here) wont allow it because she "loves" Penny...Although they never go for walks and all I ever hear her do is yell "SHUT UP" at her...
I am CONSTANTLY on her a** about the rabbit too, his name is Oreo, and she NEVER feeds him. I don't even know how this bunny is still alive or how he survived before we moved here. At first I didn't worry about it. I know that makes me a horrible person, but my opinion was... "It's not my responsibility, and if Oreo dies then Amy will have to answer to the kids" but as time went on I realized that she was just waiting for it to die...and that if it died, they would probably blame it on me. Due to the fact that I said "I'm not feeding it because it's not my bunny..." and my grandmother got kind of mad at me...
At one point I saw that it had gone at LEAST a week without food or fresh water and I literally cried my eyes out, feeling very guilty for not ever caring. I made cody go out and buy a bag of rabit food and I have been feeding and watering him since then on a daily basis. I still absolutely refuse to clean his cage because I feel that Amy should have SOME responsibility for this animal.... But we even butt heads on THAT one small chore... When 2 weeks has gone by and I can't even BREATHE in the basement because the stench is so bad and she says "I'm SORRY that I have to work and I'm SICK and TIRED..." She literally works 4 days out of the week at most, usually mornings, and I'll be damned if she's sick every time I mention it...
She's just incredibly lazy and it infuriorates me... I can't imagine being this rabit sitting in those noxious fumes for weeks on end.
And, maybe I am wrong, but I told Grandpa that I would take over ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES, if he would give over the rabit to me. I have always wanted a bunny... But he refuses to give it away, even though it's in the basement and the kids never even visit it anymore... It's like hes not even phased because he never goes into the basement and has to smell it or watch it suffer. To me it's like locking your kid in the basement and waiting for them to die...
I know this post is becomming insanely huge but I just can't stop myself from ranting... I have no control over anything in this house, I understand that I'm "just a guest" but I'm at the point where I'm about to throw a HUGE FIT if they don't start taking care of these animals.
Penny gets food and water every day and let out, but the last time she was groomed was probably never, and her claws are getting so long that they look like they are getting painful. I even went out and researched a groomer for them when Amy said "It's too expensive, she's too big and they charge by weight" so when I went to Petsmart they said that it would only be 47 dollars for a bath, nail clipping, and shave... To me that is cheaper than what the vet would charge.
Then her excuse is "Well she doesn't like other dogs or people so I am not walking her through petsmart" to which I replied... "They will have you bring her in an hour before they open, there will be no people or animals there..." and then I get ignored.
Again I have the feeling "It's not my animal, I am not dumping money into an animal that is not mine, or into an animal that will just continue to get mistreated..."
Like when Cody and I gave her a bath and combed out all of her fur (She is a long haired dog), everyone was like "You better muzzle her or she will bite you!"
You want to know what happened? She was so happy to be getting clean she practically jumped into the tub and stood there while I washed her THREE times because her coat was SO greasy and nasty, and nobody even said thank you...
I am not trying to sound like a brat or that I was just doing it to earn brownie points... I was just trying to make a point...That it's NOT an evil dog, she doesn't bite, has never bitten anyone...She will growl and snap her teeth at you if you try and mess with her feet, that is all. And frankly, if my nails were growing into the palms of my hands, I would probably bite someone who tried to mess with them too.
I am at the point where I really can't take it anymore, but I am not sure what else I can do to help the situation out. I don't think that Animal Control would even do anything since the bunny appears to be in good health, and the dog is a good weight and doesn't visibly look "neglected". Plus, living here has made me feel like just as much of a contributer to their abuse and neglect...
Am I wrong for feeling that I shouldn't have to take care of these animals?
What else can I do to try to get them to take better care or rehome them?
I am not in a stable enough position to cause a war...What I mean is, I can't afford to get kicked out right now...but you can bet that the day I leave I'll probably raise hell trying to take the dog and rabbit if they are both still here...
God I am really sorry for making such a long post... I'm so upset about all of this that I am crying my eyes out right now. I don't like to see animals suffer any more than any of you guys do, and I feel so helpless here because there is really nothing I can do short of causing a rift between us...
I love my grandparents so much...they really are too old to have to deal with so many animals that they don't want. I love my Aunt Amy, but she is so LAZY... I've lost count of how many guinea pigs she's starved to death and murdered, and even laying in my room and hearing her two pigs cry at night breaks my heart... It's easier to not have to see them suffering, but I know that they are...
Just...please I hope/pray that nobody thinks that I am a bad person for not putting all of them before my financial needs, I already feel selfish... I don't want to be a bad person, but what else can I do?
I forgot to mention that my aunt has a begal that she absolutely spoils rotten, this thing is at least 10 pounds overweight and has run of the house while sleeping with her every night, is groomed on a regular basis as well has having her nails clipped once a month...
Can you imagine the horrible feelings Penny must have, watching Crackers get everything while she lives her life chained up?
Of course I come home to tons of drama, mostly due to the divorce of my uncle and his wife, the birth of his 2 twin babies from the woman he was seeing on the side, and the fact that they dumped 2 of their animals on my grandparents.
These two animals are a fairly large dog and a sweet little bunny. The reasoning behind this was so that my other cousins from his original marriage wouldn't have to completely "give up" their pets.
At first I thought this would be an excellent change from the destitute ways they were living in, with Penny (the dog) being locked in the small laundry room all day and the rabbit just having run of the house with two children terrorizing it all day...
But I've come to realize that nobody here cares about them either... Penny spends all of her days leashed to the coffee table in the living room. I understand that my Papa (great grandpa) is about to turn 90 years old and that it could be DEVASTATING if that dog jumped up on him, but that's all the more reason that it's time to rehome her.
Why don't they rehome her? Well one..because of the children, and two..because my Aunt (who is 34 years old and living here) wont allow it because she "loves" Penny...Although they never go for walks and all I ever hear her do is yell "SHUT UP" at her...
I am CONSTANTLY on her a** about the rabbit too, his name is Oreo, and she NEVER feeds him. I don't even know how this bunny is still alive or how he survived before we moved here. At first I didn't worry about it. I know that makes me a horrible person, but my opinion was... "It's not my responsibility, and if Oreo dies then Amy will have to answer to the kids" but as time went on I realized that she was just waiting for it to die...and that if it died, they would probably blame it on me. Due to the fact that I said "I'm not feeding it because it's not my bunny..." and my grandmother got kind of mad at me...
At one point I saw that it had gone at LEAST a week without food or fresh water and I literally cried my eyes out, feeling very guilty for not ever caring. I made cody go out and buy a bag of rabit food and I have been feeding and watering him since then on a daily basis. I still absolutely refuse to clean his cage because I feel that Amy should have SOME responsibility for this animal.... But we even butt heads on THAT one small chore... When 2 weeks has gone by and I can't even BREATHE in the basement because the stench is so bad and she says "I'm SORRY that I have to work and I'm SICK and TIRED..." She literally works 4 days out of the week at most, usually mornings, and I'll be damned if she's sick every time I mention it...
She's just incredibly lazy and it infuriorates me... I can't imagine being this rabit sitting in those noxious fumes for weeks on end.
And, maybe I am wrong, but I told Grandpa that I would take over ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES, if he would give over the rabit to me. I have always wanted a bunny... But he refuses to give it away, even though it's in the basement and the kids never even visit it anymore... It's like hes not even phased because he never goes into the basement and has to smell it or watch it suffer. To me it's like locking your kid in the basement and waiting for them to die...
I know this post is becomming insanely huge but I just can't stop myself from ranting... I have no control over anything in this house, I understand that I'm "just a guest" but I'm at the point where I'm about to throw a HUGE FIT if they don't start taking care of these animals.
Penny gets food and water every day and let out, but the last time she was groomed was probably never, and her claws are getting so long that they look like they are getting painful. I even went out and researched a groomer for them when Amy said "It's too expensive, she's too big and they charge by weight" so when I went to Petsmart they said that it would only be 47 dollars for a bath, nail clipping, and shave... To me that is cheaper than what the vet would charge.
Then her excuse is "Well she doesn't like other dogs or people so I am not walking her through petsmart" to which I replied... "They will have you bring her in an hour before they open, there will be no people or animals there..." and then I get ignored.
Again I have the feeling "It's not my animal, I am not dumping money into an animal that is not mine, or into an animal that will just continue to get mistreated..."
Like when Cody and I gave her a bath and combed out all of her fur (She is a long haired dog), everyone was like "You better muzzle her or she will bite you!"
You want to know what happened? She was so happy to be getting clean she practically jumped into the tub and stood there while I washed her THREE times because her coat was SO greasy and nasty, and nobody even said thank you...
I am not trying to sound like a brat or that I was just doing it to earn brownie points... I was just trying to make a point...That it's NOT an evil dog, she doesn't bite, has never bitten anyone...She will growl and snap her teeth at you if you try and mess with her feet, that is all. And frankly, if my nails were growing into the palms of my hands, I would probably bite someone who tried to mess with them too.
I am at the point where I really can't take it anymore, but I am not sure what else I can do to help the situation out. I don't think that Animal Control would even do anything since the bunny appears to be in good health, and the dog is a good weight and doesn't visibly look "neglected". Plus, living here has made me feel like just as much of a contributer to their abuse and neglect...
Am I wrong for feeling that I shouldn't have to take care of these animals?
What else can I do to try to get them to take better care or rehome them?
I am not in a stable enough position to cause a war...What I mean is, I can't afford to get kicked out right now...but you can bet that the day I leave I'll probably raise hell trying to take the dog and rabbit if they are both still here...
God I am really sorry for making such a long post... I'm so upset about all of this that I am crying my eyes out right now. I don't like to see animals suffer any more than any of you guys do, and I feel so helpless here because there is really nothing I can do short of causing a rift between us...
I love my grandparents so much...they really are too old to have to deal with so many animals that they don't want. I love my Aunt Amy, but she is so LAZY... I've lost count of how many guinea pigs she's starved to death and murdered, and even laying in my room and hearing her two pigs cry at night breaks my heart... It's easier to not have to see them suffering, but I know that they are...
Just...please I hope/pray that nobody thinks that I am a bad person for not putting all of them before my financial needs, I already feel selfish... I don't want to be a bad person, but what else can I do?
I forgot to mention that my aunt has a begal that she absolutely spoils rotten, this thing is at least 10 pounds overweight and has run of the house while sleeping with her every night, is groomed on a regular basis as well has having her nails clipped once a month...
Can you imagine the horrible feelings Penny must have, watching Crackers get everything while she lives her life chained up?