New mom threatens to keep her baby from sister and mom after they kept her puppy in a harness for a couple minutes: 'She then called, yelling that I was lazy and unreliable'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Sep 21, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

Taking care of someone else's pet can be a daunting task. Some people are rightfully protective of their animals and have very specific ways of taking care of them. I once cat-sit for a woman who required that her cat's food be in the microwave for only 13 seconds before she was allowed to eat it. How do you even come up with that specific a rule? But aside from basic health and safety, I'm of the belief that you have to relinquish a little bit of control when someone else is taking care of your pet. Especially if you're not paying them. 

But that's what happened, in the extreme, when a woman was tasked with taking care of her sister's puppy as she went into labor. But what ensued caused a family-wide dispute that threw everything into question. Read on for the details of the story and see what you think.

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    Cheezburger Image 10406049792
    via Roberto Nickson

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story

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    AITA For "Failing" To Take Care of My Sisters Dog While She Was In Labor
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    I'm 21F, and my older sister (25F) and I have always been close, but we tend to clash because she's a perfectionist and gets hostile when things don't go her way. One night, she called to say she was going into labor and asked me to watch her puppy. I agreed, and she gave me detailed instructions, including putting the dog in a safety harness when taking him outside.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    Later, I took the dog out and brought him back in, but I hadn't fully taken off his harness when he ran toward the living room where my mom was on FaceTime with my sister's boyfriend. I finished taking the harness off, but minutes later, I got angry texts from my sister accusing me of mistreating her
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    dog because he was still in the harness for a few extra minutes. Her boyfriend had seen it on the FaceTime call and told her. She then called, yelling that I was lazy and unreliable, and told me and my mom to leave her house immediately. She even said we wouldn't meet the baby until we earned her trust back.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    At 2 AM, we left, and I asked her boyfriend what was going on when he arrived. He just brushed me off, saying, "We're having a kid, you don't get an explanation." I spent the night comforting my mom, who was really upset, thinking she might not see her grandchild.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    The next day, my sister called to apologize and blamed her reaction on stress and hormones. She invited us over to meet the baby, so we went. The visit was fine, but afterward, she asked why I seemed quiet. I calmly told her how hurt I was after being kicked out,
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    insulted, and threatened. I explained that the situation left a lasting negative memory for everyone-her boyfriend missed moments at the hospital, my mom was devastated, and now her in- laws probably think we can't handle helping her. I just wanted her to acknowledge my feelings.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    Instead, she got defensive again, saying she stood by everything she said and that I was disgusting for trying to put a dark cloud over her baby's birth. She then asked me to leave, which I did. We haven't spoken since, and while I understand she's under a lot of stress, I'm left wondering if I'm wrong for wanting my feelings to be acknowledged.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    bythebrook88 · 17h ago Her boyfriend had seen it on the FaceTime call and told her Why would somebody bother a woman who is giving birth with such trivia? I suspect the boyfriend is trying to isolate her from her family.
    via u/bythebrook88
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    NotThisAgain234 • 17h ago NTA. Don't let her institute a norm where she gets to use you as a punching bag and you just pretend it's ok because reasons. It's absolutely not ok. I don't buy that having a kid is a free ticket to without be an
    via u/NotThisAgain234
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    consequences. If momentary stress causes an unfortunate outburst there is a remedy for that: A sincere apology and assurance that it won't happen again. If you don't get that, I'd keep my distance if I were you. It's not difficult to predict what you are going to be subjected to if she is allowed to get away with this behavior.
    via u/NotThisAgain234
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    CaliforniaJade • 17h ago . Your sister does not get to blame hormones on this, she's just acting like a mean and controlling person. She can find someone else to dog sit and potentially baby sit if she cannot apologize. NTA
    via u/CaliforniaJade
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    • Traditional_Honey19 OP 14h ago Wow, thank you all for these quick and thought out responses. I'm really grateful to be getting these insights. Just to answer a question/ point I'm seeing that I would like to address is, why would I bring up what happened so soon after. My only answer is truly that I was exhausted and frustrated, some further details
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    about that night was that she called us at around 11:00pm and told us that she was in labor and to come over and watch her dog, her house being about an hour and a half away from myself and my moms town. After the events. transpired, I had to drive us home at 2:00am and did not get home until 3:30am. The entirely of that
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    drive was spent with my mom hysterically crying and me trying to stay numb and console her. By the time I got my mom calmed down and to sleep, I finally had a moment to myself to cry and actually feel everything that just happened. I finally got some shut eye around 5:00am, my sister called the next morning at about 10:00am and my mom insisted we
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    go straight there before she changed her mind. I would definitely say my decision to speak my mind so bluntly and so soon, was influenced by my exhaustion and emotional state. I hope this helps with context! Thank you guys again.
    via u/Traditional_Honey19
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    PlayerOneHasEntered 16h ago So, you all should be prepared for your sister and her boyfriend to pull this card as often as they like. Threatening people with not seeing the baby is pretty much a staple for people like this.
    via u/PlayerOneHasEntered
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    effinnxrighttt . 16h ago NTA. I feel like there is a lot of assholery here. Firstly, the boyfriend for even mentioning the harness that was on the puppy during the FaceTime call while she was in ACTIVE LABOR. Asshole move.
    via u/effinnxrighttt
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    Her calling to blow up at you and treat you like while you were doing her a favor and threatening to withhold her child. move. Her doubling down after you explained your feelings. move.
    via u/effinnxrighttt
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    I've had 2 kids. The hormones during labor and the hormone drop after are crazy. That doesn't mean that she gets to mistreat and disrespect people for trivial things. If she still wasn't ready to conversation about the blowup because of being fresh from having a baby, then she could have simply acknowledged your feelings and asked to talk about it in the near future. But no, she doubled down and made herself look like a bigger
    via u/effinnxrighttt
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    I don't know where you go from here but I think for your sake you need to set some boundaries and not do favors for her or start walking away when she speaks to you badly. She needs to know it's not okay.
    via u/effinnxrighttt

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family drama dogs aita pregnancy pets sisters giving birth reddit story parenting birth story family pregnant sister reddit thread pet care Reddit parents
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