Pets are family members, and there should never be a situation wherein you are made to choose between having a pet and having a relationship.
Unfortunately, we have this person who got into a relationship with someone who hated dogs, and in order to accommodate her new relationship, she chose to give up her 4-year-old dog.
Ribbon, the 4-year-old German Shepherd mix, was given up to the sister who then posted on Reddit asking people if she was an a-hole for not giving the dog back to the original owner.
If I understand correctly, Ribbon wasn’t entirely given away voluntarily. As OP wrote, her sister was basically told that she had to give up her dog or the person she was dating would leave. OP’s sister left Ribbon to their mom, but the animal didn’t get along well with their mom’s other pets, so Ribbon ended up with OP. Not to sound bitter here, but OP’s sister still left her dog in favor of being with a man, so I guess she’s still at fault here.
OP wrote that she never thought that her sister’s decision was temporary, as her sister ended up marrying “he-who-hates-dogs,” but 2 years after their marriage, they got divorced. In addition to 2 years of being in a relationship, it’s been 4 years since OP’s sister gave Ribbon up, and now that she’s divorced, she’s asking OP to give her dog back.
Shocked, OP told her sister that she thought she had permanently adopted Ribbon since it has been 4 years now. The sister then countered that she had planned to take Ribbon back as soon as she convinced her ex, but the ex never wanted the dog. Now that they’re divorced, the sister is declaring that Ribbon is her dog again.
“I told her 4 years is way too long for her to expect me to return a dog she rehomed, especially because she never said it was temporary,” OP wrote.
Her sister got mad, and proceeded to rant about her ex and being lonely and how Ribbon was the only thing she had left. OP’s decision to keep Ribbon is in good taste, as she considers Ribbon as part of the family now, and rehoming him is just impossible after 4 years. She suggested to her sister to get another dog if she wanted some company.
“She yelled at me for thinking Ribbon is replaceable (but he is; she gave him up before) and called our mom to tell her to convince me to give her back her dog,” OP wrote.
Now the mom agrees with OP that 4 years is too long for the sister to want Ribbon back but adds that since the sister is alone and OP already has a family, it would be okay to give Ribbon back as some sort of support for her lonely daughter.
I, for one, think that it’s fair that OP keeps the dog. Not to sound like a hater, but I could never choose a person I’m romantically attached to over my dog. The fact that the sister’s ex gave an ultimatum like that is unacceptable in my book. (That’s an instant red flag, by the way.)
Reddit deemed it safe to label OP as NTA. The comments say that it would be unfair for the dog to be rehomed again, moreover to someone who gave it up once before.
One user said, “the dog is a living breathing creature, not a heat pack to pass around when you need comfort.”
Totally agree. What do you guys think?
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