4 ms·

This happened recently: Wag! dog walker charged with animal cruelty; customers concerned about industry background checks http://www.ktvu.com/news/wag-dog-wal

by yegle 8y ago

This happened recently: Wag! dog walker charged with animal cruelty; customers concerned about industry background checks http://www.ktvu.com/news/wag-dog-walker-charged-with-animal-cruelty-customers-concerned-about-industry-background-checks http://www.ktvu.com/news/wag-dog-walker-charged-with-animal-... EDIT: and the settlement letter sent from Wag: https://www.scribd.com/document/397139013/SNews-Copie19010815010 https://www.scribd.com/document/397139013/SNews-Copie1901081...

defap 8y ago
Wow. The walker kicks and whips the dog until it vomits blood and Wag offers a refund and a $100 credit as settlement. Who in the world wants Wag credits after an experience like that. If Wag wants to buy these folks’ silence, shouldn’t they at least make a non-insulting offer?
- warent 8y ago
  This is terrifying behavior both on part of the walker and Wag. I don't blame Wag for having occasionally sketchy immoral actors that don't care about animals--that's essentially impossible to entirely prevent, especially as they continue scaling. However, their responses to these issues are extremely concerning and do not indicate a company that's managed well.
  - ataturk 8y ago
    You're starting to see what all these shitty tech companies have in common. None of them are about the subject matter or thing, they're about making fast money. Who the hell beats up on a dog if they're a paid dog walker? WTF?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- philwelch 8y ago
  If that was my pet, I might settle for the opportunity to kick and whip each and every cofounder until they vomit blood.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- megous 8y ago
  It seems that by accepting the token compensation reflexively (before thinking about other alternatives you might have), the case can be argued to be settled and the company will have an advantage over you in case you change you mind after learning about the options you might have had for a better settlement. And credits are cheap and can be provided almost instantaneously. Sometimes they also expire (you have to use them in 14 days or whatever, or you lose them), so it can be a free settlement for companies in the "best" case.
  - Breza 8y ago
    Think about the minimal cost of a case going to trial. Maybe $2,000 to pay outside counsel for one appearance to request dismissal? The costs balloon exponentially from there. I don't understand why Wag wouldn't offer at least $500 or $1,000 to avoid that.
spraak 8y ago
I understand why people get upset about their companion animal bring purposely hurt, but I don't understand how most everyone in that same demographic has no problem killing (or having killed through their economic transaction) a cow, pig, or chicken. I don't understand the disparity or the difference. And yes I'm aware it's cultural, because some places eat animals that other places think of as companions (dogs in China, guinea pigs in South America), so I mean that I don't understand the culture that values some animals over others.
- warent 8y ago
  I'm a vegan but your point is tangential to the discussion and doesn't really make sense here.
  - spraak 8y ago
    Found the vegan. Also, I'm vegan. Secondly, is every comment on HN perfectly on point and never tangentially related? No, many many popular threads are not directly related.
    - thecatspaw 8y ago
      There is also a very stark difference between whipping a dog until it vomits blood for fun, and killing an animal immediatly for food.
      - vinay427 8y ago
        > killing an animal immediatly for food. That's often not the case. For instance, male chicks are often killed and discarded solely for not being able to lay eggs, and various other animals are unnecessarily raised in inhumane (meaning "less than human" here) conditions until they are killed, not always for food.
        thecatspaw 8y ago
        > I understand why people get upset about their companion animal bring purposely hurt, but I don't understand how most everyone in that same demographic has no problem killing (or having killed through their economic transaction) a cow, pig, or chicken. Im just explaining this. Yes, killing animals just because they cant lay eggs is fucked up. Animals raised in inhuman conditions is animal abuse and should be followed up as such. But I do not understand how people can think this is one and the same.
mturmon 8y ago
All that, and the following undated blog post that does not refer to any of these serious problems: https://wagwalking.com/daily/how-wag-strives-to-earn-your-trust-every-day https://wagwalking.com/daily/how-wag-strives-to-earn-your-tr... It gives the impression that Wag is just telling the rubes what they want to hear and hoping they can sweep any problems under the rug.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

by yegle 8y ago

defap 8y ago

Wow. The walker kicks and whips the dog until it vomits blood and Wag offers a refund and a $100 credit as settlement. Who in the world wants Wag credits after an experience like that. If Wag wants to buy these folks’ silence, shouldn’t they at least make a non-insulting offer?

warent 8y ago
This is terrifying behavior both on part of the walker and Wag. I don't blame Wag for having occasionally sketchy immoral actors that don't care about animals--that's essentially impossible to entirely prevent, especially as they continue scaling. However, their responses to these issues are extremely concerning and do not indicate a company that's managed well.
- ataturk 8y ago
  You're starting to see what all these shitty tech companies have in common. None of them are about the subject matter or thing, they're about making fast money. Who the hell beats up on a dog if they're a paid dog walker? WTF?
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
philwelch 8y ago
If that was my pet, I might settle for the opportunity to kick and whip each and every cofounder until they vomit blood.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
megous 8y ago
It seems that by accepting the token compensation reflexively (before thinking about other alternatives you might have), the case can be argued to be settled and the company will have an advantage over you in case you change you mind after learning about the options you might have had for a better settlement. And credits are cheap and can be provided almost instantaneously. Sometimes they also expire (you have to use them in 14 days or whatever, or you lose them), so it can be a free settlement for companies in the "best" case.
- Breza 8y ago
  Think about the minimal cost of a case going to trial. Maybe $2,000 to pay outside counsel for one appearance to request dismissal? The costs balloon exponentially from there. I don't understand why Wag wouldn't offer at least $500 or $1,000 to avoid that.

spraak 8y ago

I understand why people get upset about their companion animal bring purposely hurt, but I don't understand how most everyone in that same demographic has no problem killing (or having killed through their economic transaction) a cow, pig, or chicken. I don't understand the disparity or the difference. And yes I'm aware it's cultural, because some places eat animals that other places think of as companions (dogs in China, guinea pigs in South America), so I mean that I don't understand the culture that values some animals over others.

warent 8y ago
I'm a vegan but your point is tangential to the discussion and doesn't really make sense here.
- spraak 8y ago
  Found the vegan. Also, I'm vegan. Secondly, is every comment on HN perfectly on point and never tangentially related? No, many many popular threads are not directly related.
  - thecatspaw 8y ago
    There is also a very stark difference between whipping a dog until it vomits blood for fun, and killing an animal immediatly for food.
    - vinay427 8y ago
      > killing an animal immediatly for food. That's often not the case. For instance, male chicks are often killed and discarded solely for not being able to lay eggs, and various other animals are unnecessarily raised in inhumane (meaning "less than human" here) conditions until they are killed, not always for food.
      - thecatspaw 8y ago
        > I understand why people get upset about their companion animal bring purposely hurt, but I don't understand how most everyone in that same demographic has no problem killing (or having killed through their economic transaction) a cow, pig, or chicken. Im just explaining this. Yes, killing animals just because they cant lay eggs is fucked up. Animals raised in inhuman conditions is animal abuse and should be followed up as such. But I do not understand how people can think this is one and the same.

mturmon 8y ago

All that, and the following undated blog post that does not refer to any of these serious problems: https://wagwalking.com/daily/how-wag-strives-to-earn-your-trust-every-day https://wagwalking.com/daily/how-wag-strives-to-earn-your-tr... It gives the impression that Wag is just telling the rubes what they want to hear and hoping they can sweep any problems under the rug.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]