Man Forced to Choose Between Wife or New Puppy
A dad wanted to surprise his two daughters with a new puppy, but it ended with disastrous results for his marriage.
The anonymous man took to Reddit explaining that he made the kind gesture without his wife's approval — and she was livid.
He said he brought home a 6-month-old puppy for his 9-year-old and 11-year-old daughters. The girls loved the new dog, but his wife not so much.
"The dog is house trained, crate trained and dog friendly. He is generally responsive off [leash] and to commands," he wrote via Reddit, according to Mirror.
His wife doesn't like the puppy's constant shedding and barking, and also complains that he doesn't listen.
"Their mum complains that he sheds, can be excitable in the evenings and as a result has scratched the wood floor," he continued. "He occasionally barks in response to the dog across the street barking and when she is walking him, he pulls too excitedly to meet other dogs."
His daughters love the new pooch, but his wife has given him an ultimatum: her or the dog.
"I can't imagine telling them that we have to give up the dog because their mum can't take it," he said, noting that his marriage is already on the rocks.
"Our marriage is so so with both of us having questions about its ultimate viability and this issue is getting teed up as a sort of 'me or the dog' episode," he detailed. "We seem to be at a place of who makes the sacrifice. My wife sacrifices for us or we sacrifice for her. She is not willing to put in any more time or training which I would describe as very limited at this point anyway."
He continued: "She is convinced that she can never enjoy her life if we have the dog and that me and the kids will 'get over it' if we re-home him."
The man also explained that his wife is responsible for walking the dog on Mondays, while he and the kids take care of it every other day.
"From my perspective, he is a smart and trainable dog who would easily learn to walk calmly on leash, like he does for me and often does with the kids with some work," he detailed, adding: "Yes, he has a couple dog habits that can be annoying. So the real question is if their mum says 'it's me or the dog,' am I wrong to say, if you mean that, I guess it's 'you.'"
In the comments, users on Reddit expressed that the dog is just a "symptom" of the man's crumbling marriage and that the couple should seek professional help.
"It’s clear that this is not about the dog you’ve had for over a year. It’s about the complete breakdown of your marriage and whether or not you and your wife want to save it," one person wrote according to Mirror.
Another commented: "This isn't about the dog. Go get counseling and see if the two of you even want to be together."