If you’ve ever been really strapped for cash, you know the mental gymnastics your mind can do to figure out a way to get some cash to just scrape by till your next payday. It’s not a nice way to live, but it is survival, what we humans do best.
But sometimes, this useful skill can be used for evil, rather than good.
In this story, a dad was royally mad when he caught his son trying to sell the family dog for some extra cash to be used for gaming gear.
A pet isn’t something you can give away easily or at all when you’re “tired” of it
Image credits: Kateryna Babieva (not the actual image)
The poster took it online to ask if he was a jerk for taking his son’s devices and dog away after he tried selling it
Image credits: u/Necessary_Concept_27
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual image)
The son asked the parents for some new gaming equipment, but when they didn’t buy it for him, he decided to sell “his” dog
Image credits: u/Necessary_Concept_27
Image credits: Daoud Abismail (not the actual image)
The dad was enraged at his son for trying to sell the family dog, which he doesn’t take care of at all
Let’s start from the main and most important character in this story – the pupper! Zeus, the dog, was gifted to a 14-year-old, the son of the original poster (OP). He wanted an outdoorsy dog to join him on adventures, so Zeus is a husky, but not long after the teen got the dog, he became less infatuated with the outdoors and started spending more time gaming.
It’s important to mention that the teen has a cat, who he is attached to and takes very good care of, as well as being empathetic towards his siblings, so the parents couldn’t have guessed what the future held in store.
Over the course of two years, the teen now being 16, he hasn’t taken care of the dog whatsoever, no walks, no buying food, nothing. And so it became the family dog – OP mentions in the comments that he never wanted a dog, but he is happy to have it now.
Just like that meme “dad with a pet he didn’t want” sitting on top of his head, the dad and most likely the rest of the family took on all responsibilities related to the dog.
When the parents refused to buy some gaming equipment for the son because it didn’t fit their budget, the dad caught the son trying to sell the dog on Craigslist at first and then a week later, dad found the son red-handed, having taken Zeus for “a walk,” while in reality he had set up a sale.
The dad was incandescent with rage after this, taking away all of the son’s electronics and the dog, so he couldn’t attempt any more secret sales.
Another kicker is the fact that the teen actually has a job – yeah, you heard that right – and the father surmises that he just doesn’t want to spend his own money on the gaming gear.
The story happened 11 months ago and we have contacted the dad for an update, but he hasn’t gotten back to us yet.
Image credits: Szabo Viktor (not the actual image)
The trope of kids just fawning over the idea of getting a pet is a popular one. Almost as popular as them dropping any and all interest in the pet not too long after they get one.
Animals are, well – shocker incoming – animals. They’re not toys, they’re not really gifts either, they’re living beings that need a lot of upkeep to be healthy and happy.
The holidays, despite already being a period full of flashy decorations and distracting sounds for pets, are never a good time to add an animal to a family. Guests coming and going, children shouting, wanting to pet the animal at all costs, no matter how aggressively, are a definite strain on a pet.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) argue the same, that animals should never be given as gifts, because it exacerbates the problem of shelters becoming full to the brim with “toys” quickly abandoned by kids right after the holidays.
In a Quora thread, the good people of the internet were discussing what to do in these kinds of situations – when a child wanted a pet, but now that they’ve got one, they won’t take care of it.
One of the top answers says that if they’re old enough, you should make them take care of the pet. For example, if they don’t take the pet on walkies, refuse to feed it or clean up after it, decreasing their allowance could help. If they make a habit of it, they could be grounded or lose other privileges.
You shouldn’t punish the kids disproportionately, but they must understand that a pet is a responsibility that they’ve taken on and cannot be abandoned when the “shiny new thing” feeling wears off.
The original post collected 5.2k upvotes, with 837 people in the comments judging the poster not to be a jerk and emphatically supporting dad’s actions. In the end, according to the comments, the dad attempted to refer his son to therapy, to help the family understand the deeper issue.
Share your thoughts about this story and experiences below!
The community judged the poster not to be a jerk, saying that the son’s actions were way out of line
