Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/aita-dog-walk-refusal/

Another family conflict, another pet caught in between. This time, we’ve got two dog parents arguing over who’s taking their dog out in the morning.

It all came to a boil when one person ended up giving the other the silent treatment, and now one of them feels like an a-hole for refusing to walk their dog.

I cannot stress this enough, but owning a dog brings some added responsibilities in a person’s day-to-day life. One should be prepared to accommodate the needs of their fur baby; if they’re unable to do something personally, they can always get help from the other family members.

Anyway, let’s move on to the story!

So we have our OP, who tells us that they got a dog since her husband started “harping” on her to get one, so they did. Then she says that all the dog responsibilities were pushed on her and their kids, while the husband only participated in all the fun stuff when it comes to their dog.

OP talked to the husband before because of this issue. The husband got better at taking care of their dog for a while but is getting back to his irresponsible habits as of late, according to OP.

“Now please do note that I do not hate the dog, but I am overly resentful at this point, and I’m willing to admit that. I already had a lot on my plate, and I thought this would be a team effort, but it definitely is not.”

Understandable. We all have our limits, OP.

OP writes a bit about their morning schedule: “So I get to bed around 3am after work. He is in bed by 10pm and up at 6:30. He does not leave here until 8. I have to get the kids on the bus for 7:40.” She adds that the husband doesn’t do anything else other than “trying to wake up” after taking a 45-minute shower every morning but still asks her to bring the dog out at the last minute before OP needs to bring their kids to the bus stop.

“So basically I have to chase the kids around and get them motivated and then worry about the dog on top of it.”

By now, I feel like most people are already siding with OP on this one. Aren’t mothers just amazing?

Now what made OP snap was when she spent 30 minutes chasing their dog down the street one morning when it broke free from its harness and took off after a bus. The morning after, OP’s husband asked her once again to take the dog out, and OP refused. She told her husband that she wasn’t taking their dog out in the morning anymore and that he could do it before going to work, since he has 1.5 hours of free time before going to work. OP’s husband was pissed but ended up walking their dog that morning.

The following morning was the same scenario, though their kids didn’t have school that morning, the husband asked OP to walk the dog again because he “didn’t have time,” and OP declined again.

“I am responsible for the dog all day every day when he is at work, so he can bring her out in the mornings. He now won’t talk to me. AITA?”

Reddit decided that OP’s not the a-hole in this situation, and I agree.

However, OP felt that they were being an a-hole because of the way she handled the situation, because she “got immediately pissed off the second he asked me because I don’t understand why he can’t do it himself after being up for that long so I snapped,” she wrote.

Honestly, I feel like OP didn’t immediately react though. The whole thing has been going on almost since they got the dog. And it feels like every little thing just accumulated until just recently for OP.

As one commenter said, “You work late and get to bed at 3am, but YOU’RE the one getting up at 7:40 am to get the kids ready for school? While he takes 45-minute morning showers??” They went as far as to suggest giving the husband a trial separation to see if that wakes the husband up.

Let’s just hope that the family works things out and make a better schedule for everyone involved. For the husband and his “weaponized incompetence,” as one commenter said, I hope he helps his partner and their children in the mornings as well. Looking back at what OP wrote about their sleep schedule, I think it’s more than justified to let the husband do more things in the morning.

Check the original post below.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog