Woman Refuses to Watch Stepdaughter’s Dog While Recovering from Hip Surgery, Sparking Backlash from Fiancé

A woman is questioning whether she’s really at fault for family conflict after she refused to look after her stepdaughter’s new dog.

In a Reddit post, the 42-year-old shared that she’s been with her fiancé, 41, for over six years. He has two daughters, ages 17 and 20, and both currently live with them.

The 20-year-old works full-time and divides her time between their home, her mother’s place and her boyfriend’s parents’ house.

“We have a 4-year-old dog and a 6-year-old cat,” the woman wrote. “One week, my stepdaughter and her mom decided they were going to ‘rescue’ four or five puppies. I didn’t know the full story, but apparently my fiancé told her not to keep one, though he admits he never gave a firm yes or no.”

Her fiancé later explained that if he had strictly said “no dog,” his daughter would probably just stay at her mom’s most of the time instead. In the end, the stepdaughter kept one puppy, her mother kept one or two, and the others were adopted out.

“I wasn’t involved in any of this,” the woman continued. “She just came home one day with her new dog and that’s when I found out we had a second dog. And by ‘we,’ I mean me, because I’m the one who takes care of the pets almost exclusively.”

A few weeks later, the new puppy developed kennel cough and wasn’t allowed back at the boarding facility where the stepdaughter works.

“She texted me while still in bed, asking if she could leave the dog home in a crate while she worked and if I could take him out for bathroom breaks,” the woman wrote. “I knew I could do it, but I really didn’t want to.”

She explained that she was still recovering from hip replacement surgery, their older dog didn’t get along with the puppy, and she felt her stepdaughter needed to face the realities of pet ownership.

“She’s 20, has a job, a boyfriend, a ton of plans and now a dog. I didn’t want to be the default caretaker every time something came up,” the woman said. “If she’d asked me before getting another dog, I would’ve said no.”

Instead of agreeing, she suggested that her stepdaughter ask her grandmother for help, since the grandmother lived nearby and didn’t have any other animals to worry about.

Her stepdaughter then told her father she would just stay at her mom’s instead.

“Now I’m getting flack from my fiancé and the grandma,” the woman wrote. “My fiancé doesn’t have my back and has made some mean remarks. When the grandma stopped by to drop something off, she had the puppy in her van and said in this condescending tone, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let him touch your precious dog.’ ”

Later, the grandmother and fiancé spoke in the driveway and, according to him, she scoffed about the woman refusing to watch the dog.

“He’s been acting cold toward me ever since,” the woman said. “I’m hurt that my fiancé doesn’t have my back. I’d already watched the puppy a handful of times while everyone went out hunting. It’s not like I’m not trying. I just feel angry at the injustice of it all. Why am I now the bad guy?”

After sharing her story, commenters weighed in on the situation.

One person wrote, “Your fiancé expects you to take care of a puppy after you had hip surgery? And he blames you for his daughter’s immature attempt at controlling you? YTA to yourself for even considering marrying him.”

“It sounds to me like your relationship is over. Your fiancé and his family have no respect for you,” another commenter said.

Someone else added, “Time to pack your bags [and] leave. Or kick them out if they’re in the home you own.”