If you've ever visited a Starbucks with a dog, you might have ordered a pup cup - otherwise known as a puppuccino - for your furry friend to enjoy while you have your coffee.
The drink is actually just a cup of whipped cream with no coffee in it at all, and while it isn't available on the official Starbucks menu, many baristas will be more than happy to make one if you ask at the tills.
And while the drink is commonly bought for dogs, it also makes a great treat for young children who shouldn't be drinking any caffeinated beverages.
But one man on Reddit has been left baffled after he ordered one of the whipped cream cups for his five-year-old niece - as her mum immediately assumed it meant he was "treating her like a dog".
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The man explained he had taken his niece to the zoo to give his sister and her husband a break, and they had stopped off at Starbucks on the way home.
In his post, he said: "I have a 5-year-old niece called Evie from my older sister Jane. I took her out last week to go to the zoo and give my sister and her husband a break.
"On our way home, we went through our local Starbucks drive through. Evie rarely gets these drinks with my sister, mainly because they're expensive and she never finishes them, even the smaller size. My sister also isn't a huge Starbucks fan, she prefers simpler coffees.
"I asked what she wanted and she didn't know. I asked her if she wanted a cup just full of whipped cream, and she got excited and said yes. So I order my drink and also got a pup cup, which is what people usually get their dogs, and it's just a small cup of whipped cream. Evie loved it and it didn't cost me anything, so I figured it was a win-win situation."
When the man dropped Evie home, the little girl told her mum about her day and included the tasty treat she'd had at Starbucks, which then prompted the man to joke with his niece about her being the "cutest dalmatian".
But the joke didn't go down well with Evie's mum, who accused her brother of being "degrading" for getting the youngster a treat "meant for dogs" and pretending as though she was one.
He added: "I drop her back home and came inside as well. My sister asks how her day was, and Evie tells her. When it got to going to Starbucks, my sister asked what she got and Evie said a pup cup and rambled on about how it was a cup full of just whipped cream.
"My sister looks at me and asks if it's the one you give to dogs. I said yeah and jokingly said 'isn't that right Evie, Evie the cutest dalmatian?'. Evie laughed and pretended to bark.
"My sister was p***ed. She said I was a d**k for getting her daughter something meant for dogs and pretending like her daughter was a dog.
"She linked it back to feminism and how I was somehow degrading her and her daughter? She told me to apologise and I said no and left. Our dad told me that Jane was just being protective of Evie and that I should just apologise since it wasn't worth it. I plan on doing so since it's such a big deal to her."
Commenters on the Reddit post were quick to assure the man that he wasn't in the wrong for giving his niece the pup cup, as many pointed out that beyond the name, the treat isn't any different than the whipped cream that Starbucks tops many of their drinks with.
One person said: "I think the whole thing is kind of cute, to be honest."
While another added: "It’s not 'meant for dogs'. It’s the same whipped cream they put on all the other drinks, and it’s a clean paper cup. There’s nothing about it that’s specific to dogs other than the cute name. It’s not like you gave your niece milk bones."
And a third wrote: "Your sister went a bit overboard in her ideas of feminism. Hell, I loved pretending I was all sorts of animals when I was younger, plus I’d still take a cup of whipped cream any day."
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