A man has been left having to fight for his beloved pet dog, after his wife decided she wanted to put the animal up for a adoption now they've welcomed their first baby, Gabriel.
The man and his wife have had their dog Annabelle, a husky and German shepherd cross, for three years, and have never had any issues with her - with the exception of the fact she likes to jump up at people.
For the first few days, after bring Gabriel home from the hospital, the couple would have Annabelle in the backyard through the day, before having her sleep downstairs when they went up to bed.
"Before Gabriel, she was kept in her kennel in the living room, which is at the end of the house, opposite the bedrooms," the man wrote on Reddit's AITA forum.
"I figured my wife wanted to keep her away from our son because she sheds a lot and I wasn't sure if it was generally safe that she live in the same space as our son. I was fine with keeping her down there temporarily for everyone's sake."
The next time the man saw his son's paediatrician, he decided to voice his concerns regarding Annabelle and Gabriel, and the doctor told him that as long as his son isn't showing any signs of allergic reactions at this stage, then there should be no issues with them living in the same house.
"I also mentioned that she is very energetic and they advised that our son be kept physically away from her until she becomes familiar with him," the man added. "Later that day, I figured it'd be fine to move her stuff back upstairs with intent to keep her away from him to keep him physically safe."
However, when his wife returned, she was "furious" that he had moved the dog's things back upstairs without speaking to her first, prompting her to announce that she wants to put Annabelle up for adoption.
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"After a huge fight in front of her mum, she packed up her and Gabriel's things and left for her parents house with him," he wrote.
"I confess, I went behind her back in just bringing up Annabelle's stuff back upstairs assuming that it'd be okay because the paediatrician said there's no outright and immediate threat to our Gabriel. I know she just wants to keep him safe and we have different beliefs on how to accomplish that."
He added: "All I want is that the two most precious things to me that can't take care of themselves, are taken care of. Up to this point Annabelle hasn't harmed Gabriel and there was not even an opportunity to see if he'll ever have any kind of allergic reaction to her.
"Had there been a preexisting cause for getting her out of the house, then obviously that is something out of our hands and she has to go, but she had not even been given a chance to get familiar with our son. Neither Gabriel or Annabelle asked for this or deserve this."
The man said that "no matter what happens Gabriel will come first and be taken care of no matter what," but questioned whether he was wrong to think it was okay for Annabelle to come back upstairs after getting the green light from their doctor.
One Reddit user commented: "You don't abandon your pets just because you have a kid. Your wife is being unreasonable. You take precautions to ensure the baby is safe from the dog, and the dog is safe from the baby, and you're fine."
"Having a baby is no reason to not have a dog, in fact its more reason to have one. Kids that grow up with dogs always have a best friend they know they can rely on and share everything with," another added. "If I was ever with anyone who gave me a 'its me or the dog' ultimatum, they'd be gone before they could finish the sentence."
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