When couples are not on the same page about a dog, it can end pretty badly. One viral thread posted to the sub-Reddit “Am I The A**h**e” details a prime example of this.
Seeking some support for the way she reacted, Reddit user Careless-Track7897 posted the story of how her husband treated her dog when she was away. She wrote that while she was out of town, her husband left her beloved German Shepherd Dog Leo, tied up outside on a short tether without water.
An Eye-Opening And Upsetting Experience
The story begins when the OP (original poster), u/Careless-Track7897, went on a business trip. The post title “AITA [Am I The A**h**e] for going off on my husband and causing him to cry for keeping my dog tied outside while I was gone?” sort of gives away the ending. Still, its details are strange.
u/Careless-Track7897 wrote:
“My husband isn’t allergic to dogs or anything but he refused when I asked if he could watch him. Bear in mind that he’s home most of the time because he’s out of a job at the moment. His excuse for refusing to watch him was that he didn’t know how he’d take care of him but I’ve already taught him and it’s not hard to take care of [an] animal, it’s not like I left a baby with him.”
Whenever she attempted to see her dog via video call, her husband said he was “sleeping” or “in the other room.” She decided to come home early from her work trip to follow up on her suspicions.
When she got home, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Leo was outside, alone, tethered to a pole. He also had no food or water nearby.
“He obviously didn’t have enough space to even turn, just look at the way he was tied, I couldn’t help but lose my temper when I saw him like this.”
The poster’s husband claimed Leo had only been tied up for “just an hour cause he was getting hyped up.” Security camera footage later disproved that claim, and the woman was horrified to learn Leo had been out there for days.
“I lost it, I went off on my husband and called him cruel and awful. He said he wanted to explain but I kept lashing out until he broke down and started crying. I called him neglectful, irresponsible, a liar and cruel for keeping Leo tied outside and making him feel unloved and isolated.”
Appropriate Response Or Overreaction?
After the confrontation, the husband went to stay with a friend, and the Redditor’s mother-in-law called to say yelling at him was wrong. Thus, the reason this woman came to Reddit for answers in the first place.
Was it wrong of her to react so angrily? Many people told her she overreacted, but she thinks not:
“I was mad. I told him he should’ve let me know I couldn’t rely on him but instead he went and mistreated my dog.”
As it turns out, many people on Reddit thought she behaved perfectly rationally. The condition Leo was kept in could be considered abusive.
“He abused your dog for days not out of ignorance but out of pettiness and laziness. He then weaponized his family against you when you are rightfully upset that the man living for free in your home couldn’t be bothered to take even the bare minimum level of acceptable care for a living creature.” – u/LazyCrazySloth
“Holly cr*p. I just saw the picture and if I came home and saw my dog like that I would be fuming, and then figuring out it was like that for a week, damn I would throw all your husband’s things out and serve him divorce papers.” -u/InpatientComment972
While it was up, the Reddit post accumulated 16.5 thousand upvotes.
On Tethering Dogs Outside
The forum’s moderators later removed u/Careless-Track7897’s post, citing Rule 5: “We do not allow posts which concern violent encounters. This includes any mention of violence in any context.” That could be one argument against tethering a dog like this.
Leaving a dog tied up alone (especially outdoors) for long periods can be harmful. According to the Humane Society:
“Intensive confinement or long-term restraint can severely damage their physical and psychological well-being. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously chained or intensively confined in any way, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive.”
Some states, like Texas, have strict laws regarding tying up dogs outdoors. If you see a dog tethered without food or water for a long time, report the incident to the proper authorities.
