A woman asked others to weigh in on a personal drama after she threatened to leave "her sister's dog at a shelter" because it quickly became too much for her to handle, she shared on social media.
In less than 24 hours, more than 1,100 comments and reactions came in on her post.
"My sister asked me to dog-sit for her while she went to visit her dad. He's currently in [the] hospital, and it was last-minute, so I agreed," a woman wrote Reddit, inviting others to weigh in with thoughts and opinions.
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"Her dog is a little spaniel-hound mutt," wrote the user, "Short-Landscape3650," who did not share her location.
"And I have my own spaniel, so [I] assumed it would be fine, you know? As you can assume, it [was] not fine.
"Her dog is awful. He isn't toilet trained, barks, isn't socialized (growls at kids, constantly jumping, lunges at cars)."
On top of that, "he eats everything, can't leave him for a second. He howls incessantly."
Wrote Short-Landscape3650, "I can't cope with him … He doesn't let me sleep or eat. I have had to take time off [from] work," adding later in a separate note that the dog is a 7-month-old puppy.
Exasperated, she added that "on Thursday, I called my sister and told her she needs to send me money to board him because I can't cope."
This did not go over well.
"She called me a b---- and told me that I know what puppies are like," the woman wrote about her sister's reaction. "And I shouldn't be bothering her at a time like this," given that the dog owner's father is in the hospital.
The woman on Reddit continued about the puppy, "Yesterday he destroyed one of my dad's shirts … and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"I told her she had until Monday to send me the money or I'm going to drop him off at a shelter."
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The dog, said the woman, "is chipped and our local shelter has a space for ‘abandoned’ pets. The owners have 14 days to come and collect their pets, so it's not like she'll lose him forever."
The woman added that her sister became "pretty angry and upset and hasn't spoken to me about it. I am struggling still and don't know what to do."
She also said that their "mom thinks I'm in the wrong but also won't watch the dog, so I'm not sure I really care for her opinion."
Among the responses to the post was a comment that received more than 2,000 "upvotes."
"You made an unwise commitment to watch a dog (puppy?) that you didn’t know," wrote a user named "Inappropriate Access."
"You assumed that one spaniel mix is just like every other spaniel mix."
Added the same user, "If you can’t follow through on the commitment YOU made, you need to pay for boarding the dog."
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Another commenter took a very different view.
"You tried. I’ve had to look after dogs like this and I don’t think people calling you [the a--hole] realize how horrendous they can be," wrote "SuitableHair7490."
"You’ve told your sister you can’t continue and given her a deadline. Maybe some of the animal lovers on Reddit can step forward and take the precious pooch for a few weeks," the person added.
Others suggested she try solutions such as a kennel — but the woman responded in a separate comment to that idea this way: "I can't kennel him because he just screams. Like, my neighbors called the police when I tried and I'm having to use up my sick days to stay home with him now."
Another person wrote, "I would feel terrible to hear my dog was trashing someone's home and making them take sick days from work, dad in hospital or not, I would definitely arrange something else as soon as I'd hear about it! My dog, my responsibility."
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Another chimed in with, "Sounds like your sister held back some important information about the dog. Maybe because she knew [the original poster] wouldn't be as eager to dog-sit if she knew that information, but she just wanted the easiest, fastest and cheapest solution to her problem."
"Without a basic understanding of the do’s and don’ts of puppy raising, things can go sour fast," noted Modern Dog Magazine.
"Housetraining woes, destructive chewing, barking and other unsettling behaviors can quickly [lead to] frustration and even regret," the publication also indicated.
"But by avoiding the most common errors, you can increase the odds of enjoying the experience and mentoring that puppy into adulthood."
Among its tips: Dog owners should start basic puppy training "immediately."
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"An eight-week-old puppy is completely capable of learning basic obedience commands the moment she walks into your home … By beginning simple obedience skills such as sit, down, stay and come, you’ll give her a heads-up and create a sense of focus and enthusiasm crucial to a well-mannered pet. Start training right away, day one!"
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