Relationships2 min(s) read
Published 14:48 12 Nov 2020 GMT
A woman has left social media users divided after asking if she was in the right to re-home her pet dog without telling her boyfriend.
Sharing her story to the Am I The A**hole forum on Reddit, the unnamed 26-year-old (who uses the handle zennizenni - titled her post: "AITA for 'giving away' the family dog without my boyfriend's consent?"
Explaining her situation, the unknown woman writes that her 35-year-old boyfriend of five years shares two children - aged six and eight - from a previous marriage, and the couple also have one-year-old twins of their own.
"The year I started dating my boyfriend I adopted a dog," the woman writes. "I was still living at home with my parents at the time and only moved out of there to live with him."
She adds: "My boyfriend lost his job in April and since I have a college degree we both agreed it would be financially more efficient for me to get a job and for him to be a SAHD [stay at home dad]."
However, despite the fact she was able to find a job "pretty quickly", the woman says her boyfriend has struggled to adjust to life as a "stay at home dad". She adds:
"I mean he did absolute bare-minimum to take care of anything. The workload is about 90% me and 10% him. When his kids are here he makes them watch the twins while he plays video games. I still clean, cook, grocery shop, and then have to do a whole bunch of damage control with the kids."
However, the woman then explains that her dog - named Daisy - was abused prior to being adopted.
"Her was really difficult. She has a very strict regimen she needs to follow or else she goes nuts," she writes.
"My boyfriend never follows it and it has resulted in our couch getting chewed up and having to buy a new one, her getting into a ton of her own food and eating out of the garbage and subsequently getting sick, poop all over the house, peeing on every surface, etc."
After months of this, the woman says that he gave her boyfriend an ultimatum: "Start paying more attention or we get rid of the dog."
However, the boyfriend was unimpressed with the choice, and the redditor writes: "He was so mad at me and told me the dog is the only bright part of his day (he does love the dog) so I told him that he needs to either follow what the daily routine, or the dog is going to live with my parents."
The woman then explains that a month ago, one of their twins was playing with Daisy and the dog bit the child's hand. The woman explains: "I don't blame Daisy at all, but I do blame my boyfriend.
"I told him it was the last straw and the dog was going back to my parents. He threw a MAJOR fit, said the bite wasn't even that bad (my kid had to get STITCHES) and that I was over-reacting."
As a result, the woman says she "packed up the dog and the kids, and drove 1 hour away to [her] parents".
She writes: "[Daisy] already seemed more calm and so happy. My parents literally created her routine so they know it well and I know that she will be happier there. We also visit at least once a month, so she will continue to see us."
However, when she arrived home, her boyfriend had left a note saying he's "staying at a friends house for the entire weekend"
"He said that I sent him into a depression and that now the dog will also be depressed," she writes.
In response to the story, many redditors were on the side of the girlfriend, with one person writing:
"NTA. When animals are becoming more aggressive with small children, it's better to rehome them to someone who can take care of their needs. There's nothing wrong with admitting that neither of you can handle Daisy's needs at this point in time."
Another redditor said: "NTA you have an extra child on your hands. The whole situation sounds horrid for you, Daisy, and the kids.
"I'm glad Daisy gets to live with your parents, she knows them and she'll be comfortable with them while still getting to see you guys sometimes, I presume."
Other Reddit users said she should have gotten rid of the boyfriend:
However, not everybody agreed with the girlfriend's decision.
"YTA [You're the a**hole]. That poor dog. Really just represents how much of a heartless person you are. You never considered that dog as part of your family. If you did then I'd be so concerned for the humans in your life."
