Owning a dog is extremely rewarding - but it comes at a cost.
A woman was left feeling "furious" when her husband bought a puppy on a whim - and didn't bother to give her a heads up.
Explaining how she works from home while he goes into the office, the woman has vented her frustrations over now having to care for a puppy while she tries to earn a living.
She told Reddit: "My husband had never had a dog before we started dating/got married, but he fell in love with my dog Mimi and recently wanted one of his own.
"I was firmly against this anytime soon. Honestly, Mimi doesn't have long left - a year, maybe two tops. She's starting to go, and a puppy would make the last of her time too stressful.
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"I insisted that, after she passed and we mourned, we could get a second dog. My husband wasn't happy, but he agreed.
"Well, my husband brought home a puppy. I was furious, to say the least, and demanded he takes it back to the breeder. I work from home and he goes into the office, so I'm the one who would be taking care of it."
After he refused to return the dog to the breeder, the woman said she would only look after the puppy if she is paid for the inconvenience.
"He agreed, though I don't think he believed me," she added. "I researched how much dog care would be, drew up a contract, and put it in front of him to sign. He did it without reading it.
"It's been a month, and my monthly bill has been sent to him. He's blown up, even though the dog is only alive because of me after a miserable month. I told him he can pay or take the dog back. We're at a stalemate here.
"I outright own the house, so we have a shared bank account for utilities and groceries.. Everything else we earn we keep for ourselves for our own savings and fun money.
"I'm charging him £400 a month since that's what boarding is around here."
While most users agreed the woman was right to put her foot down, others slammed the husband for having little to no regard for her point of view.
One user said: "Your husband doesn't respect your boundaries. Your labour has value, and your husband doesn't respect that either.
"He went behind your back, bought an animal that requires a lot of care, and expects you to do all the work.
"I don't think you're wrong for expecting to be paid for the value of labour that you didn't want to do in the first place.
"But it sounds to me like there are problems between the two of you - and a serious lack of respect on his part - that a contract isn't going to solve."
Another user said: "Your husband is very dismissive of you, which is a big issue.
"You were not at all being unreasonable when you suggested waiting till your dog had passed and you had mourned.
"He agreed, but then went back on his agreement. Then he leaves you to take care of this dog, agrees to pay you, and goes back on that agreement as well.
"I wouldn’t back down on this. Taking care of a dog is a huge responsibility, especially when you didn’t even want the dog in the first place.
"If he had gotten the dog when he was single and working and had to have someone else take care of the dog during the day, I’m sure he’d expect to pay for the labour. He should expect nothing less in this situation."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
