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Woman Adopts Dog, Horrified After Being Harassed By Previous Owners For Name, Food And Vet Change
Some people just can’t let go—whether it’s their ex, their high school glory days, or that one favorite mug they’ve glued back together five times. There’s something oddly comforting about holding on, even when it makes no sense. But sometimes, people take “attachment issues” to a whole new level.
One woman found this out after adopting a sweet dog who came with more emotional baggage than a reality show contestant. Turns out, the hardest part of adopting him wasn’t house training — it was dealing with the humans who couldn’t stop acting like he was still theirs.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
There are many ways to become a pet parent and one of the most common is adoption
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
That’s how this woman got her 7 year old beagle – she adopted him from the family that no longer could house it
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Only she didn’t anticipate said family to have such a hard time letting go of the dog
Image credits: Natalia Blauth / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Months after the adoption they reached out and started scolding the woman for doing things “the wrong way”
Image credits: mydognotyours
To get rid of them, she decided to ask them to cover pet’s “boarding bill”, which she knew they couldn’t do
Some time ago, the OP adopted a 7-year-old beagle from an old lady, who could no longer take care of him. The adoption process went smoothly, so the woman thought the dog’s ownership would too.
For a while it was, until one random day, the previous owner’s daughter found her on Instagram to express the horror the family experienced after learning of the dog’s name change from Thomas to Lucius.
With that, she also started asking questions about the dog and got offended when the answers weren’t what she wanted. Basically, the previous owners were terrified that the new owner dared to change anything about the dog, from the vet’s office to the food type. And so, they decided to make the OP’s life hell.
The family started calling the author a few times a week, asking stuff about the dog. This annoyed the woman so much that she ended up blocking their number. So, they drove up to her gate with the intention of taking back the dog, which the original poster in no way was going to do.
Yet, she decided to play with these insufferable people a little. The OP listed down all expenses she had over 3 months and gave them the bill, knowing they could not afford it. This caused the same daughter, who reached out in the first place, to start blowing up social media with stories about how the author is the jerk who holds their beloved pet hostage.
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
This drama online didn’t affect the original poster that much – she knows the dog is hers legally. Yet, she kind of feels a little bit icky morally. After all, playing around like that with the bill may not be the kindest thing one can do.
At the same time, they were constantly breathing down her neck about every little decision about the dog, which wasn’t the kindest thing either. They made the choice to give him up, so they don’t really have a say in how the dog is raised, especially when they see that he’s not being mistreated, just that some small details have changed.
Plus, changing dog ownership often can be detrimental to its well-being. The bond between people and dogs tends to become an intense one, sometimes even equal to the one between the mother and the infant. It’s because it releases oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, for both parties during their interactions.
Thus, rehoming a dog can be borderline traumatizing for them. Trauma in dogs can manifest in various ways, for example, loss of appetite or overeating; withdrawal; destructive chewing; excessive barking, to name a few. And the thing with dogs is that you cannot really explain the changes to them, unlike what you can do for a human, which makes canines’ trauma even more harmful.
It also makes the old owners’ behavior in the story beyond odd. They knew what they were doing by giving up the dog, so their acting out just shows their lack of social awareness. That’s why netizens firmly told the OP that she is doing nothing wrong here – putting annoying people in their place doesn’t make her out to be a jerk.
Do you agree with netizens’ opinions? What would you have done in the OP’s place? Share all this in the comments!
Netizens reassured her that she shouldn’t feel bad for her actions, as coming up with a scheme to get annoying folks out of her hair doesn’t make her a jerk
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Apatheist Account2 1 month ago
Many people rename adopted pets, probably less so if it's had an owner who's been calling it the same name for 7 years, more so if it's a rescue. Still, the previous owner isn't entitled to have it back, or have any say in it, once the transfer is complete, any more than they can with a house or a car, unless there's a genuine suspicion of mistreatment - in which case they have to prove it to the relevant authorities.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
Yep. Every one of my adopted pets (other than Stilgar, whom I chose at 9 days old) had a name from the shelter/rescue/fosterer before I adopted them. Didn't stop me from changing their names once I adopted them XD (Preacher was named Miller, Riker was Hercules, Rook and Lucanis were Mimi and Kyle.) 99% of the time you're going to call your pet a nickname; they CAN and DO adjust to and learn new names. And - again depending on where OP lives - animals are legally considered possessions that you own, much like (as you say) a car or house. Previous owner has NO claim on the animal once it is legally possessed by its new owner.
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Janelle Collard 1 month ago
OP put up with the ex-owner + daughter way longer than I would. I would have blocked them after the first 3 or 4 harassing calls.
UnclePanda 1 month ago
Another 'seller's regrets' post. Same as yesterday. If the deal was legitimate, there's no ethical argument for reversing it. The YTAs probably all have similar mistakes in their past.
Apatheist Account2 1 month ago
Many people rename adopted pets, probably less so if it's had an owner who's been calling it the same name for 7 years, more so if it's a rescue. Still, the previous owner isn't entitled to have it back, or have any say in it, once the transfer is complete, any more than they can with a house or a car, unless there's a genuine suspicion of mistreatment - in which case they have to prove it to the relevant authorities.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
Yep. Every one of my adopted pets (other than Stilgar, whom I chose at 9 days old) had a name from the shelter/rescue/fosterer before I adopted them. Didn't stop me from changing their names once I adopted them XD (Preacher was named Miller, Riker was Hercules, Rook and Lucanis were Mimi and Kyle.) 99% of the time you're going to call your pet a nickname; they CAN and DO adjust to and learn new names. And - again depending on where OP lives - animals are legally considered possessions that you own, much like (as you say) a car or house. Previous owner has NO claim on the animal once it is legally possessed by its new owner.
Load More Replies... Janelle Collard 1 month ago
OP put up with the ex-owner + daughter way longer than I would. I would have blocked them after the first 3 or 4 harassing calls.
UnclePanda 1 month ago
Another 'seller's regrets' post. Same as yesterday. If the deal was legitimate, there's no ethical argument for reversing it. The YTAs probably all have similar mistakes in their past.
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