While lots of mums will wholeheartedly swear that their sons can do no wrong, one mum taught her son a valuable lesson about adultery by giving away his beloved pooch.
In a post shared on Reddit’s ‘Am I the A**hole?” thread, the anonymous mum, 55, shared that despite her love for her son, she was upset with how he ‘blew up his marriage by cheating’.
Her son – who has been given the pseudonym 'Carlos' - has now moved back home after the breakdown of his marriage. She explains he got married when he was 20 and his ex-wife had a daughter, three, from a previous relationship who she still considers to be her grandchild.
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Together, Carlos and his ex-wife had a child together, making them a family of four.
The mum explains some of the difficulties in her son’s marriage.
“Covid caused a lot of stress in his life and he works in a fly in fly out camp job,” she said.
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“He is gone for two weeks at a time. Then home for two weeks. He makes very good money and enjoys spending it. Maybe a little bit too much.”
She also divulges the circumstances around the cheating. She said: “'Carlos' cheated on his wife with a co-worker.
“I am not judging him. I am not perfect. But he chose to leave his wife and children. And move back home.
“It doesn't really make sense for him to rent an apartment or something for the 12 days a month he is home. So I allowed it. But he decided to be an a**, in my opinion, and bring his dog with him.”
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The mum’s grandchildren love the border collie, but she claims her son is ‘trying to punish his ex for telling him to leave’.
“It is the perfect dog for their home,” she shared about her former daughter in law's house. “Huge yard, lots of walking trails nearby, even an off-leash park only a ten minute drive away.
“I live in an apartment downtown. I am allowed a dog, but if I were to have one it would be something sedate and non-shedding like a Maltese.
“I swear I tried watching this dog. But my son is irresponsible. He doesn't walk him much. He doesn't brush the dog. He is just holding on to the dog to lever his way into his ex's life.
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When Carlos came home after two weeks away - and before flying to the United States for a vacation with his new partner - the mum had enough.
She said: “So I called my [daughter in law], checked that she wanted the pup back, she almost cried with joy, packed up everything that belonged to the dog and took him over there. My grandchildren were ecstatic.
"My son just came home for three days before he has to leave for work and asked where his dog is. I told him the truth.
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"He is calling me an a**hole for giving away his pet. Also because I said that if he tried to go get the dog and bring it back he was not welcome in my home.”
Comments came out in support of the mum and even criticised her son’s reaction to the dog situation.
“NTA [not the a**hole] in my opinion,” one person responded. “He’s only thinking of himself. Not you, not the dog, and not his kids. Also, calling you an a**hole? You’re nice to let him back into your home at all after that.”
Some Reddit said they don’t usually support giving away someone’s pet, but the mum’s actions were ‘justified’ in this scenario.
“I'm not generally supportive of unilaterally giving away someone's pet, but I think it was entirely justified in this case,” a Reddit user declared.
“He brought it into your home without asking you and he's literally never home to take care of it. He was intentionally making you, the dog, and his own children upset, just to get back at his wife for not putting up with his cheating.”
While someone else shared: “It's time he got some pushback. He has already basically abandoned the dog to you at least half the time, anyway, and even more so when he's on vacation.
“He does not, at present, have the kind of lifestyle that makes it possible to house a dog.”
Gregory Robinson