A recent post on the Reddit saw a dad asking if he was in the wrong for prioritizing his son’s dog over his wife’s pregnancy.
This guy is a devoted father, and he’s had it tough. His wife suddenly passed away after his son turned eight, leaving them both alone. To help his son with his grief, this man got him a dog – a Great Dane mix.
His son imprinted on their dog, as any child would after losing a loved one. Now his son is 14 and loves the dog unconditionally. Minus vet visits, his son is responsible for everything dog related and is an incredibly devoted dog owner. This dog is his best friend.
This man remarried, and his new wife is currently 12 weeks pregnant. However, since they confirmed the pregnancy, she’s been acting weird around the dog she previously loved.
She avoids him when possible, puts her hands over her stomach when he is around, and is constantly on edge.
This was when the conflict between the two began: she told her husband she wanted to rehome the dog, as she’s been getting anxious, thinking he might jump on her.
You Might Also Like: He Found Out His Girlfriend Had Been Stealing From Him, So He Got Her a Valentine’s Present She’ll Never Forget
Her husband thought this was utterly unreasonable; because the dog is half Great Dane, they specifically trained him from a puppy not to jump or run into people.
The husband took dog training very seriously because he felt it was important for a dog that may eventually grow to such a large size to be well trained.
This man told his wife that there was no reason for her to think the dog would jump on her, but she replied that there was no way to know that the dog won’t.
She told him that if he did jump on her, it could hurt their baby and that even if it didn’t jump on her, the anxiety about it was bad for her and her baby’s health. She insisted that she needed the dog elsewhere for her safety and her baby’s.
The man explained to her there was no chance they were rehoming the Great Dane, as the dog meant the world to his son and helped him cope with the death of his mother. Sometimes he thinks his son “loves the dog more than me!”
His son’s dog had never so much growled at her, and he couldn’t bear to put his son through another loss, especially when the dog didn’t do anything.
His wife accused him of prioritizing the dog over her pregnancy, but he knows the dog isn’t a threat to her. If this were any other request, he would do it because she is pregnant, but he can’t break his son’s heart over a groundless fear.
He ends the post by asking, “am I being an a**hole?”
Papa_pockets gave the top-rated comment, with over 14,000 upvotes. Their verdict was that the dad was NTA (not the a**hole). They said, “I would micro chip the dog, if you haven’t already. Make sure info is up to date, and see if she will seek counseling/compromise. Your kid needs his dog. NTA”
MisstressLilliana agreed, and their comment got over 10,000 upvotes. They said, NTA. Animals are lifetime responsibilities. Pawning them off because she got pregnant would be a s***** thing to do.”
Due-Cause6095’s comment got over 6000 upvotes. They said the dad was “NTA. Don’t you dare give away you son’s dog. He didn’t ask for you to remarry and have a new child. Your son will never forgive you, or your new wife, if you allow her to continue to push this topic. She needs to actively work on coping with her anxiety. May I suggest therapy?”
JCBashBash agreed with Due-Cause6095, saying, “This right here, she’s a grown woman who is talking about bringing a baby into this relationship. She needs to put in the work on her anxiety, not try to get rid of a family member who’s been in the family longer than her.”
Reddit users thought he was in the right, but what do you think? Should he get rid of his son’s dog, or should his wife accept that he’s there to stay?
The post She Wanted Him To Get Rid of Their Dog, but It Was His Sons Best Friend first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Sergey Nivens. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit