#so if dms look different chalk it up to bbu not being our universe ok

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References events in this post. TW: modern slavery (BBU).

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r/boxieadvice holepunch5309 two hours ago

Office pet beat up by other staff (advice)

Posting this from a throwaway so I don’t get fired. My company is a small business that has a boxie in the head office. He technically belongs to the manager but he was bought with company funds. He does hospitality, cleaning, filing and stuff. But recently the heads of department have started hurting him.

 It's a really small office, less than ten people. Boxie does a good job, works hard, but he's not that bright. Sometimes he fucks up and the guys hurt him. At first it was just small stuff, a slap or something. But he made a big mess last week with some accounts and one of them drew blood.

 I don't know if I'm overreacting. I grew up with a really shitty dad and I guess I'm sensitive to people escalating that kind of thing. Nobody else seems to have a problem with it or thinks he deserves it. Boxie ends up hiding and can't take care of himself. Even if someone helps him they're usually kinda weird about it, making him beg them or stuff.

 I feel like it's going to get worse and worse. The boss beats him up when he's stressed already. He's really helpful normally and I don't want to see him get broken. Is there anything I can do?

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  AUTOMOD 🛡✔ Pinned two hours ago

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 vivaciascar (pet owner) two hours ago

The best thing to do in a situation like this is go to the root cause. Your boxie has got tasks he doesn't know how to do. If he can't handle accounts, don't give him accounts. Let him stick to making coffee. Pets aren't designed for being in work environments without specialist training. You're already straining him with filing. Stop overloading him and the mistakes will stop too.

 somethingboromired (pet owner) two hours ago

This is the answer. He's overloaded and he can't keep up. Your team is putting too much pressure on him and he's buckling, which gets him punished, which makes him tired and hurt, making more mistakes. Remember boxies are fundamentally dumb. They shouldn't be near money and your boss could get in trouble if he lets it happen.

 pm_me_your_salads (wannabe owner) one hour ago

His problem isn't with the mistakes though, he's upset at how the others are punishing the pet. Sounds like reasonable punishment to me though, if he makes a big mistake it should be a big consequence. It's how they're trained and it's how he'll learn.

 ree4ree (pet owner) one hour ago

Jumping on top comment to point out as well that boxie already got punished for his small mistakes and he didn't learn. OP can't see that they are escalating with him because he hasn't shown improvement

 holepunch5309 48 minutes ago OP

He has training for office work and we trained him on the accounts. He does fine 99% of the time but the moment he screws up someone is beating him up. He can't take that from them forever.

 IDontEatCrab (verified handler) two hours ago

I get your concern but that's not your pet. He belongs to the company and the name on the paperwork is your boss. It's his decision what the pet gets and what's right for him. Focus on doing your job.

 Nineteen84 (ex-owner) one hour ago

Don't get fired for a boxie's sake, they're not worth it. They'll sell you up the river for praise. Take it from me.

 holepunch5309 42 minutes ago OP

Is there any way to get his ownership transferred to me or can I do anything for him as part of the company?

 Britbird03 (pet law) two hours ago

It sounds like there's things missing from your account OP. You're worried about escalating punishments, but your boss already beats him. You said in another comment that he's trained for office work, but the only company that does that is Help at Home, and they advise against giving your Boxie paperwork. Is your manager pushing him too hard, or do you have a genuine pet abuse case on your hands? I've advised on those before, please DM me if you need advice.

 holepunch5309 seven minutes ago OP

Thank you, I have

 BigAl69 (pet owner) one hour ago

Boo hoo for your pet. He fucks up, he gets hurt. It's the only way they learn. You're making the classic mistake thinking about him like a person. He's not a person. He's trained to understand orders and pain. He doesn't know anything else. He doesn't need your sympathy

 CoachCheesey (wannabe owner) 39 minutes ago

The problem isn't the punishment the problem is that he's doing accounts. Would you trust a boxie with your money? Why does your boss? Sounds like you need to ask why you're even using him for the jobs your finance team should be doing. Someone's slacking and making the boxie pick it up.

 ree4ree (pet owner) 19 minutes ago

This. Even if a pet is doing data entry or something, the finance team should still be checking what he does like any boss would do for a human employee. Even more so in fact

 cootiesmaster (multiple pets) two hours ago

This is way to vague for us to help with, what even is "drew blood"? Did they break skin on a hit or did they stab him??

 holepunch5309 36 minutes ago OP

I can't be specific because it would identify me. It was a small but deep wound. He's never had anything like that before.

-

holepunch5309 Hi.

Britbird03 Hi OP. Thanks for coming to talk. I'm not a lawyer first of all, so I won't be suing you or reporting you or anything. But I'm a welfare campaigner, and I thought I could give you some advice on what you're seeing.

holepunch5309 Ok. So what…happens?

Britbird03 Why don't you start by telling me what happened in more detail? You've realised that something is wrong, and I want to help you understand why your instincts went off today.

holepunch5309 I guess

holepunch5309 I guess it was just a shock. Not because he got hurt. Is that shitty? I was used to him getting hurt. The boss does beat him. Uses him like a stress toy punching bag. He always picked him up afterwards though, looked after him. Got hi patched upand stuff.

holepunch5309 But today it was like…everyone just left him. He was hiding and crying and he didn't do anything to fix it. I don't know if he even knows how. He was just sitting on the floor crying and I went to help him and nobody else even paid attention. And I guess I just thought…what if they do something worse sometime and I can't fix it for him? He's already got one thing that'll probably scar now.

Britbird03 Thank you for explaining. It sounds as though you're right, and things are escalating. This is the most dangerous time for a boxie. We don't have a disproportionate incident to act on, but we know one is coming.

holepunch5309 Do you think?

Britbird03 I do. It sounds as though your colleagues have been pushing boundaries and daring to see where the line is. None of them are stepping up and making things stop. Of course, you could be that person, but it can be risky to try. You're the one who has seen there's something wrong. You're not okay with what is happening. Your boxie needs someone like you looking out for him.

holepunch5309 Damn

holepunch5309 I hadn't thought about it like that. Thank you.

Britbird03 You're very welcome. There are two options ahead of you. One is safer for him, and the other is safer for you.

holepunch5309 Let me hear it

Britbird03 If you want to guarantee that your boxie won't be hurt anymore, the only way to do so is to liberate him. It is difficult to do legally, I have to warn you, but it is the safest thing for him. You may be saving his life. The alternative is to wait until something provably abusive is done to him, and report it then. But the investigations are slow and the bar you have to clear is very high. Police are very strict about what counts as abusive because of the influence of pet companies. You can do this anonymously, but it might not work to save him. And obviously, along the way, something unquestionably awful has to be done to him to give you the evidence.

holepunch5309 Those are both pretty fucked up options

Britbird03 I'm afraid that's all I can recommend within the limits of the law.

holepunch5309 What do other people do?

Britbird03 Some stay under the radar, bury their conscience, and wait it out. Others intervene, try to prosecute, and more often lose than win. A few take matters into their own hands and smuggle the boxie to a shelter or across the border.

holepunch5309 But that's illegal

Britbird03 It is. I can only imagine they see it as more important than the law. A risk worth taking.

holepunch5309 All that for a boxie. Seems weird.

Britbird03 Often those are people who recognise the human dignity of pets. It's a rare thing and arguably heroic. But as I've said, I can't suggest that. It's safer for you to follow a legal route.

holepunch5309 But

holepunch5309 Not safer for him

Britbird03 No.

-

Tyler leaned back from his laptop with a sigh, his old gaming chair creaking at the movement. The stranger was all facts, as best he could tell, mercilessly concise. The only thing people did that properly worked was liberating or smuggling them. Anything short of that and the problem didn’t go away. Maybe there would be a way to force it to court, sue for ownership or persuade Charlie to let him go, but it would be an uphill battle.

Maybe he’d just make the whole office hate him and get himself driven out of a job. Maybe he’d make things worse for Roman, making them blame him for turning one of their own against the group. Maybe he’d get the poor fucker sent back to be brain-blasted into forgetting everything and getting resold.

He had no idea what he was doing with this. He just knew that Joel stapling Roman in the hand made him feel sick at the pit of his stomach. Finding Ro in the kitchen hyperventilating about it was even worse. He couldn’t get the image out of his head. Roman had been white as a sheet, platinum hair and white shirt only adding to the sallow look of him, hand clutched to his chest with a dark line struck across his hand. The resistance of the skin against the bent metal as he’d tried to work it free with as little pain as possible. Roman’s wide, teary eyes, one brown and the other blue, fixed on him with gratitude. The hitch in his breathing. The way he’d wobbled on his feet. The red.

He would have sat there alone if Tyler hadn’t gone. He would have stayed there.

He was so stupid. He’d just made it worse with the outfit. It had been a joke, but it wasn’t a joke to Ro.

He was so fucking stupid.

He didn’t know what to do.

-

Roman had a little strip band-aid on his hand when Tyler went in the next morning. The little wound was covered up and he seemed more like his usual self. He was sitting on the floor between the desks, sorting out sections of the newspaper along with everyone’s post. He smiled at Tyler when he came by.

“Morning, Ro.”

“Good morning.”

“C’mere a second.”

Roman got up, gathering the unsorted envelopes, and followed Tyler across to his desk. He went to his knees when Tyler sat, setting his stack on his lap.

Tyler glanced around. Dillon wasn’t in yet and Phil was with Charlie. Joel was off on his far side, not yet caffeinated to the point of acknowledging anyone else. Tyler asked, “I got a question for you. I was just wondering if you like it here.”

Roman’s eyes lit up. “I do!” he affirmed brightly. “It’s wonderful here. There’s lots to do every day and I can be helpful for everyone. I’m happy to be helpful.”

Tyler frowned. He’d heard Roman say that a dozen times. He was almost certain it was a trained slogan. “That’s good. Yeah, good stuff. Is here anything that you want to make it better?” If Roman said he didn’t want to be hurt, Tyler would fight for him. That would be the line. If Roman knew what discipline was, what a real punishment felt like, if he’d been trained for that like everyone said – then he would recognise what counted as excessive, right? They wouldn’t train a Box Boy without any self-preservation.

“I…can’t think of anything,” Roman answered after a dutiful pause for thought. “I am happy. I’m sorry that you were worried.”

“Nah, not worried.” He couldn’t let that get back to the others. “Just wanted to make sure you knew you were doing a good job. Mostly. ‘Cause of yesterday, you know. Don’t let it get you down.”

“Thank you, Mr Tyler.” He seemed to be smiling again, but like he couldn’t remember how. He made those expressions sometimes, like he couldn’t just do them instinctively, they were all put on or...trained.

Tyler pretended not to notice.

“You’re a good guy,” he said, hand moving automatically to ruffle the pet’s hair. “Doing a good job.”

#bbu #pet whump #epistolary whump #reluctant whumper #box boy universe #pet whumpee #stockholm syndrome #regret #the birdhouse #tyler #roman #my fic #the research for this one was fun but i don't have reddit #so if dms look different chalk it up to bbu not being our universe ok