Coworkers stealing food from break room fridge for 6 months learn they've been eating gorumet dog food the entire time: '[They] gave me horrified looks'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Nov 21, 2024 7:00 AM EST

It's impolite to steal people's stuff, and ultimately, they're not really responsible if what you're stealing isn't what you thought you were stealing. Besides, when you're taking things without asking, there isn't really a chance for the person you're stealing from to tell you what it is that you're stealing from them.

Having food going missing from the workplace fridge is an all-too-common office frustration, driving some to go to considerable lengths in order to secure their food in the fridge with locking containers and angry messages.

After ordering custom-made dog food from a small local provider, this dog owner worked out a routine where they were picking up the food while at work and storing it for the day in the office refrigerator. While this would normally be extremely frustrating, they found the missing dog food to be pretty silly, why on earth would anyone be taking it? Surely, one taste of the dog food the first time they took it would have been enough to keep them from trying again. Yet, the theft continued, and the dog owner reported the theft to HR but otherwise didn't make much of an issue out of it. Fast forward six months, and they made a loud complaint about the missing food in a staff meeting, catching a couple of stunned looks from the coworkers they suspected of the theft.

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    Coworker ate dog food for close to six months. AITAH for letting it go on so long? This is my sister's story. Earlier last year I bought a puppy, some kind of walking mop. Cute as heck. The seller warned me that it had very specific dietary requirements. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do on my time off was to make dog food, so I approached a woman, recommended by my local pet
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    shop, to make two weeks worth of food. She uses very cheap cuts, grains, and supplements specifically formulated for dogs. I pick up the individually packaged bags every second Monday morning and keep them in a plastic container labelled with my name in the community fridge, then take it home after work. It doesn't take up much room.
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    Awhile ago I noticed that some of the bags began going missing, then found the empties in the waste bin. They are marked DF with the date in black sharpie. I immediately knew what was going on and thought it was funny. Luckily my mother is in love with doggo mop-face and when she dogsits, around three
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    times a week, she feeds her, so puppers never goes hungry. So I let it go on, occasionally complaining to HR and colleagues about my "specialty food" being stolen. Other than a sternly worded email nothing was ever done.
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    Finally, during our six month productivity meeting I loudly complained that my bags of dog food were still going missing on the regular, because now I actually was getting p ed at the blatant theft. Two young guys gave me horrified looks. Neither of them ever fessed up to the pilfering, but since that meeting my dog food has never gone missing.
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    My close office colleague thought it was funny, but said I was a real AH for allowing it to go on for so long. So, AITAH? At least I know it must taste alright. And maybe I'm imagining it, but their hair does seem shinier.
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    Update: I hope this is the correct way to do this. Wow, this kind of blew up. Wasn't expecting it at all. To answer some questions 1. This is a very small niche company, around 80 people total. Thirty are on the road going to sites, the rest stay in the office. The two guys suspected of pilfering make well over six figures. So those concerned about them having to steal to eat, it's very unlikely.
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    2. Dog food is prepared by a lady in her own home, she packages each portion in a freezer bag and marks each bag with DF and the date, ex, 01/11/24. All portions are placed in a see-thru plastic box and has my name on the lid and two sides. It's picked up at 5:30 am on my way to work, spends the day in the fridge, then taken home when I leave for the day. Typically four bags started to go missing on the regular. I do not leave it at work for two weeks.
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    3. Mop Face is allergic to liver, pork and corn. There are some spices in the food, turmeric and garlic (to name a couple) recommended by the vet. There are also some oils and vitamins specific to doggo's needs. 4. I admit to being amused every second Monday when I noticed the missing bags. Sorry for my petty immaturity. I also replay the meeting in my head and chuckle. It was worth the money I was out.
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    Update Number Two For everyone freaking out about the garlic issue, Mop Face was recommended garlic by a vet. In fact, since eating her special diet, which includes garlic, she is doing much, much, much better. The fact of the matter is that garlic is actually good for dogs. There is no scientific research showing adverse affects from consuming it.
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    m88johnston · 10h ago • NTA. If she didn't mind losing the amount of food she was losing, then that serves them right lol
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    arnott 7h ago Top 1% Commenter NTA. Do the young guys. play fetch correctly?
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    BigNathaniel69 • 7h ago NTA, this is hilarious. It's pretty weird that your coworkers care more that you had dog food than your other coworkers stealing your dog food.
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    Roger Penroses... • 7h ago • Top 10% Commenter NTA, good dog food is indistinguishable from bad human food. It has human grade ingredients with none of the flavor, seasonings or salt. Frankly, the rice and chicken mush I feed to my dog when he's feeling ill would probably do ok with a sick human too.
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    chado5727 .7h ago Nta. You don't have to tell anyone what's in your food if they aren't going to be or supposed to be eating it in the first place. That's what they get for being a thief.
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    PFic88 .7h ago Top 5% Commenter NTA that's hilarious
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    Connect Tackl... • 6h ago. Nta. It's not like it was dog food out of a can. It was human grade food made for dogs Plus now those guys learned a valuable lesson
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    _Ed_Gein_ 6h ago • Nta. Top 5% Commenter You never had the responsibility to tell anyone, not even now, what the food was. People shouldn't steal eachother s food, and if they do and refuse to stop, then it's on them for eating
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    whatever random food they stole. You can't expect someone to tell you the ingredient list when you're stealing their food and it's hilarious.
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    Resident_Lengt... • 6h ago We had a food thief in our office. One day he took a spicy hot dog I had brought in for my meal (purchased from a specialty butcher), and a co-worker alerted me because it was kind of distinctive. I told them I would handle it. At
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    lunchtime (our lunches were staggered), I loudly wondered what had happened to the "special medicated dog food" I had picked up at the vet on my way in from work. "Gee, I complained loudly. "I hope no one ate it. My dog is sick and I don't know if the medicine is safe for human consumption. It's in a hot dog so my poor baby will eat it..."
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    The food thief quickly confessed to taking it - and was reprimanded for stealing other's lunches. Afterwards, each time he ate something from the shared refrigerator, the boss was looking over his shoulder to make sure it was something *he* had brought in and that he wasn't taking someone else's lunch.
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    LegitimateEmu... • 6h ago NTA. The two unemployed lazy who live here (long story) keep eating my dog's food. Told them there was dewormer in the last batch AFTER they've been told several times not to eat it. I just made a new batch today. Fish oil should do the trick.
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    MrLazyLion • 6h ago NTA. But I'd let out a "Woof" every time I walked past them.
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    thefuzzyismine .7h ago • NTA because this is fantastic, lol. Especially since they were repeat offenders. I'd be more prone to sympathizing with someone, even a thief, if this was a one-off because they may have been starving. Hunger is a powerful motivator, and times are tough for a lot of us right now, but these clowns did this to themselves by being greedy.
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    pathologicalpro... • 6h ago NTA. Also: hehehehe. My sister is obsessed with this explorer who does mushing. Participated in the Iditarod several times etc and goes on expeditions with his dogs. And if he doesn't catch fish or game,
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    he will supplement with kibble. He seems in pretty good shape, and that'skibble, so I doubt they'll get sick. It's sucky to steal people's food.
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    Ginger630 6h ago Top 1% Commenter NTA! They FAFO. They didn't eat poison. I hope their skin and hair are nice and shiny lol! And walking mop lol! Sound adorable.
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    Successful-Do... • 6h ago Top 1% Commenter You should definitely compliment them on their shiny hair, also mention that hreat nutrition does wonder for fu- iml mean HAIR!- condition. I just wouldnt be able to resist. If they are innocent yhry won't understand, so.
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    sugaryspin 9h ago You're not the a hole for letting it go on for so long, but it would have been better to address the issue sooner, especially since it was affecting your belongings and not just a harmless prank.
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    Flimsy-Wolveri... • 6h ago. Top 5% Commenter It wasn't poison, it was perfectly reasonable food. Thieves don't get to complain when what they stole wasn't what they expected. And it must be good, since they kept taking it. You're NTA.
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    prosperosniece • 6h ago NTA- hopefully they learned their lesson
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terrible coworkers workplace discussion dogs workplace-stories toxic-workplace workplace-story tales-from-the-workplace coworkers workplace coworker dog owners in the workplace
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