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“Couldn’t Shake The Feeling That Something Was Wrong”: Woman Reveals MIL’s Secret And Cuts Contact
Woman in yellow sweater sitting on blue couch holding and cuddling sleeping beagle dog indoors.

“Couldn’t Shake The Feeling That Something Was Wrong”: Woman Reveals MIL’s Secret And Cuts Contact

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In a perfect world, a pet would have just one family. The animals would move into their homes and spend their whole lives getting to know everyone and simply having fun. But sadly, that’s not always the case.

In the United States alone, nearly six million dogs and cats enter the country’s shelters every year, many of which are abandoned by the very people who promised to protect them.

Reddit user Erin hates that figure and tried to reduce it by adopting a beagle named Winston. What she didn’t know was that her mother-in-law would turn out to be the biggest obstacle.

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    This woman had a beagle, who eventually ended up with her husband’s parents

    Image credits: FoToArtist_1 (not the actual photo)

    Then one day, she received a strange call from her mother-in-law

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    She couldn’t shake the feeling that the mother-in-law was lying

    Image credits: namii9 (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: erin_rockab

    This story is a sad example of why so many people don’t trust other people with their pets

    Image credits:  varyapigu / Envato (not the actual photo)

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    A survey by Talker Research conducted for Newsweek revealed that two-thirds — 66 percent — of people consider their pets part of the family.

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    Like children, parents want the best for their pets, and even though technically the beagle was no longer living with the woman and her husband, it’s obvious that she had bonded with the dog prior to “trading” him and still cared about him deeply.

    The survey also discovered that less than a quarter — 23 percent — of respondents would be okay with leaving their pets with their siblings, followed by 22 percent who would entrust them to their parents. (Friends were on the list for 19 percent of people, extended family members for 17 percent, pet sitters for 7 percent, and neighbors for 5 percent.)

    Eight percent of those surveyed wouldn’t trust anyone with their pets.

    Even though some might have the expertise, handing total control of a beloved animal to someone else still feels like a risk many owners just aren’t willing to take, and after you read about such experiences, it’s hard to blame them.

    People have had a lot of reactions to this woman’s experience

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    A few even revealed they too had gone through something similar

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, Senior Writer

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    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, Senior Writer

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

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    Justinas Keturka

    Justinas Keturka

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

    Rugilė Žemaitytė

    Rugilė Žemaitytė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, my favorite part of the job involves browsing the web for the cutest cat pics, the funniest memes and eye-catching illustrations to brighten up your day!

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    Rugilė Žemaitytė

    Rugilė Žemaitytė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, my favorite part of the job involves browsing the web for the cutest cat pics, the funniest memes and eye-catching illustrations to brighten up your day!

    What do you think ?
    CaliPanda
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My “mother” tried to punish me when I was about 12-13 years old by taking my dog away and surrendering her to the SPCA. I can’t even remember what I did to deserve that, and my dog certainly didn’t deserve it either. Needless to say, I left home just before my 18th birthday and didn’t look back.

    Emilu
    Community Member
    Premium
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My friend’s “mother” did this to her as well. It took her longer, but luckily she’s now gone NC. I hope you’re healing too.

    Load More Replies...
    Eri J
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would rage if someone did this to me. Don't want the dog? Give me the poor fur baby!!

    Sylvain
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pets have not asked you to take them. Pets are a choice. They are wholly reliant on you, even more than a child. Any bad behavior is a reflection of the owner. And nothing deserves cruelty. What she did may not be technically illegal, but it is immoral.

    Load More Comments
    CaliPanda
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My “mother” tried to punish me when I was about 12-13 years old by taking my dog away and surrendering her to the SPCA. I can’t even remember what I did to deserve that, and my dog certainly didn’t deserve it either. Needless to say, I left home just before my 18th birthday and didn’t look back.

    Emilu
    Community Member
    Premium
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My friend’s “mother” did this to her as well. It took her longer, but luckily she’s now gone NC. I hope you’re healing too.

    Load More Replies...
    Eri J
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would rage if someone did this to me. Don't want the dog? Give me the poor fur baby!!

    Sylvain
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pets have not asked you to take them. Pets are a choice. They are wholly reliant on you, even more than a child. Any bad behavior is a reflection of the owner. And nothing deserves cruelty. What she did may not be technically illegal, but it is immoral.

    Load More Comments
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