A Redditor felt he was doing the right thing by adopting his father’s dog after his father died but his wife apparently disagrees.
The husband, who goes by the Reddit handle “glaucon15,” recently sought help in the “Am I the A*****e?” (AITA) forum after receiving criticism for taking in his late father’s nine-year-old cockapoo.
“AITA for adopting my dad’s dog when he died, even though my wife didn’t want me to?” the man asked in a post he wrote on Dec. 19 on the platform.
The man began by stating that his father died of heart failure two years ago.
After his father’s long-term domestic partner contacted him to give the terrible news of his father’s death, it turned out that she, too, died the same day owing to ill health, he said.
The Redditor later realized his father’s dog had been left alone.
He added, “The dog was obviously orphaned. A cockapoo, small, easy, mild, 9 years old, no problems. I took the liberty of bringing her home.”
However, what some may have considered a kind, even heroic, the act was apparently received with anger when the guy came home to his wife.
“My wife was a little shy of furious but very, very angry,” the Redditor wrote. “She said I should have asked her, that ‘it’s my house, too!’”
He continued, “I wouldn’t contradict that, but under the circumstances, I was certain that she would understand. I was very hurt by her insensitivity.”
He added, “Obviously I was somewhat stunned by grief, and I couldn’t imagine anything other than adopting the dog myself.”
The couple owns their home and already has two cats, according to Redditor. He stated once more that the dog is “low maintenance.
Two years after he originally adopted the dog, the Redditor said his wife still refuses to walk it because it’s “not my dog,” he added.
“Occasionally she uses this incident to demonstrate how I’m a bully in the relationship,” he also said.
He said it’s not about getting his wife to “do dog chores,” and she “doesn’t actually despise the dog” — but she remains firm about not taking care of her.
“I have been bold enough to suggest it on occasion, such as when we had evening plans and she was already home, but I was going to need to come home versus meeting up, or if I wasn’t feeling great,” he said.
“I’ve been surprised when she holds that boundary,” the Redditor continued.
“I’m guessing she would walk her if I was incapacitated (she’d be pissed, though).”
“Glaucon15” concluded that he still feels he had “no excuse” to “not take the dog.”
“It was a duty I welcomed,” he said. “My wife didn’t want it, but that wasn’t a suitable reason to defy my conscience.”
He added, “I couldn’t imagine being the son who sends [s]the dog to strangers or the Humane Society.”
The original poster was contacted by Fox News Digital for comment.
Thousands of Reddit users have posted split takes in response to the family conflict.
“Yes, he was right to take in the poor dog when the tragedy occurred but forcing your spouse to house an animal they never wanted and then [getting]annoyed with them when they don’t want to take care of it is pretty weird behavior,” Reddit user “stalkertuesday” commented.
Redditor “educational-fan-6438” added that the wife’s referring to her husband as a bully is “a bit over the top.”
“He had to force his way into the house to rescue the dog. Where was it to go?” the same commenter also said.
“She then can’t understand that rehoming his late father’s companion might be emotionally difficult?” the commenter continued. “The wife should try to show [him]the same compassion she’d want if roles were reversed.”