The Children Want A Dog, And Dad Agrees: Mum Tests Them.

Getting a pet is a big responsibility. For a dog lover, it is all too easy to idealise playtime and cuddles and overlook daily walks, prolonged care, and how it affects schedules. It is common for children to beg for a pet and for the responsibility to fall on the parents. Some parents agree if they, too, want a pet.

In a post on Reddit, one mum asked if she was wrong to put her children through a ‘trial period‘ to see if they are responsible enough for a pet. She wrote: “Before we married and had children, my husband and I agreed that all critical decisions required two yeses or two nos. Well, our two oldest children and my husband want a dog. I do not. I have heard too many horror stories of families who got a pet, and the person who didn’t want it was stuck taking care of it.”

The woman started a trial period to corner them.

That way, they would understand what it means to feed a dog and take him out to do his business.

In the end, however, he agreed to three conditions:

• One, a dog weighing less than sixty kilos; we don’t need a mastiff—
• Two, only a dog that is not excessively hairy. None of us is allergic; I don’t want an extra job.
• Three, a trial run.

A 60-day trial

“For sixty days straight, they had to collect all the rubbish from all the bins in the house and put it in the big bin. This was to make sure they remembered to feed a dog every day. And for sixty days, all three had to walk more than a kilometre twice daily. With the GPS tracker active. If they missed a day, they had to start again“.

The test, however, did not pass: “The longest they have done so far was two weeks. My parents called me to tell me that I was ridiculous and mean. I agreed with them 100 per cent. But since they always take the children’s side, I was ready to confront them. I sent them a link to a dog-walking service in my area. It is very reasonable.

Then they would understand what it means to feed a dog and take it out for its needs.

I said that if they wanted to have a say in decisions about the dog, they should agree to set up an account with that company and that I could call the company for help whenever their precious, perfect grandchildren and son-in-law forgot to take care of the dog. They said I was being an idiot, and they were entitled to their opinion. I agreed that they had it. But if they weren’t willing to pay to include their belief in the decision, it didn’t matter“.

The husband realised that the children were not responsible enough.

How did it end? “My husband finally realised that the kids were not responsible enough to have a dog. Great. He said we had to tell them. I said ‘we’ was one person too many. I wasn’t the one who sided with them when I said I knew they weren’t ready. He didn’t take it well.” Users in the comments were divided between those who thought his decision was excessive and those who believed he was right to make them understand the importance of caring for a dog before buying it. What do you think?

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