While some parents are fortunate enough to have a strong support system when it comes to providing care for their children, most can still agree that a good babysitter is hard to find.
It can be heartbreaking when you suddenly have to part ways with one, agreed the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
But Redditor Frosty-Barracuda-556 felt he and his wife had no other choice when they made an unfortunate discovery during their most recent night out.
When they discovered what their babysitter was hiding from them, the Original Poster (OP) knew he had to act fast.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for firing the babysitter because she brought her dog to my house?”
The OP and his wife had a babysitter they’d grown to like.
“This happened this past weekend. My (33 Male) wife (33 Female) and I have a six-month-old kid.”
“My wife and I planned a date night and we hired the babysitter we’ve used half a dozen times. The babysitter (20 Female) is a college student that lived in our neighborhood and came recommended by some friends that had kids.”
“She came over to our house. We told her our son’s schedule and then headed out. We were going to go out for dinner and then meet up with friends for drinks.”
But their most recent night out changed their tune.
“We have two cameras in our house that we can access remotely to check in on our son. One is over his bed and the other is over his play area in the living room.”
“The babysitter knows about both cameras, so it isn’t like we were spying on her.”
“My wife got a notification that there is motion in the play area, and she pulled it up to check in.”
“She saw a dog sniffing our son. We are both like, What the f**k? We don’t own any dogs and have no plans to ever own any dogs.”
The babysitter feigned confusion about what had happened.
“We tried calling, no answer, so we rushed home. We went inside, and the babysitter was holding our son, and there was a golden retriever just hanging out. Everyone was calm and fine.”
“The babysitter seemed shocked we are already home. I asked the babysitter why there was a dog in our house.”
“She said it was her golden retriever and decided to bring it today. The babysitter assured us the dog is baby and kid-friendly and is sweet and safe.”
But the OP was not happy about the babysitter’s choices.
“I don’t want my son around dogs at such a young age, even if they are ‘sweet’ and ‘safe.'”
“I was getting angrier and angrier. This was not something she was transparent about, and if we knew the dog was going to be there, I would have never okayed it.”
“I just firmly told her to grab her dog, and please leave. I informed her we wouldn’t be using her in the future. I also paid her half the rate we had agreed upon, mostly since we used her less than half the time we were going to be out.”
“She asked for the full amount. I told her, ‘No, you put my kid in danger, and you should leave.'”
“She said she did nothing wrong, but I don’t see it that way.”
“So was I the a**hole?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some were not happy that the babysitter didn’t ask for permission first.
“NTA. This girl brought an unknown large animal into your home around your six-month-old child. What the h**l kind of babysitter does that?”
“I love animals. My goal in life is pretty much to be the crazy cat lady, and if I see someone bringing in an animal where I work, I will coo and fawn over it and pet it as much as they’ll let me. Cat, dog, ferret, lizard, snake, I don’t care, I love them all.”
“But I still don’t want any of them anywhere near a freaking baby.”
“You entrusted this girl with the most important part of your life, and she obliterated that trust. What if someone had an allergy? What if the dog attacked? I have a cousin who was nearly killed by a dog when she was three, and that’s a h**l of a lot bigger than a 6-month-old BABY.”
“I wouldn’t have paid her, and I’d make sure you let anyone who you know who may use her services about this because they have a right to know what this girl is bringing into their home and around their children.”
“Was this like a neighbor/family friend kind of thing, or was she hired through some kind of agency? If you hired her through anything but word of mouth, make sure you report her.”
“She says her dog is safe, but like she’s really gonna say if it’s not. Our pets are like our kids, and we never admit how bad they really can be. A dog that size could do some real damage really quickly.”
“NTA, and please let others know for the safety of their children.” – acegirl1985
“Why didn’t she just ASK??? My goodness, I nannied before my current job (still work with children, just in a different setting), and I wouldn’t dream of doing this without permission!”
“He*l, a family I nannied for previously was okay with friends of mine they knew visiting (I used to date/was married to the mom’s younger brother), and I would make sure to ask even if they said it was cool before leaving for work. I wouldn’t even let my boyfriend/husband come hangout without permission.” – mkat23
“All the unknowns leave so many trust issues wide open. Irresponsible move on the babysitter’s part. OP did what he had to do.” – Financial-Note-9308
“The best option of where the dog was before she brought it inside is the dog being in the car, too! Otherwise, it means that someone else was at the house or that she went to her house to get it, either leaving the child unattended or taking them to a secondary location.”
“I’ve taught preschoolers. This situation is bad. Some of my colleagues babysat for some of the kids outside of work (which is fine! The kids have a bond with them, and they’re familiar with each other), and some of them do bring their pets over or babysit out of their home with their pets presents.”
“But if any of them did something like this, bringing the dog in without asking, and a parent notified the preschool, it would be grounds for immediate dismissal.” – Proper_Garlic3171
“I have a Newfoundland. She is the most kid-friendly breed/dog out there. But I would never leave her unattended with a baby, toddler, or anyone under six.”
“Would she actively hurt them? No. She is a giant knucklehead, however, and still doesn’t comprehend her own size. Her giant booty would knock a kid over, or she would think that she is a lap dog and she needs to sit on them.”
“So much can go sideways with any dog, really. It bothers me that people leave dogs and kids who are barely acquainted alone together.” – whiskersMeowFace
Others were more concerned about the babysitter not addressing potential allergies.
“Even if people want to defend it with, ‘He was friendly,’ or ‘Nothing bad even happened,’ the simple fact she brought an animal around a six-month-old without even checking if they or the parents had an allergy is a huge f**k-up.”
“I’ve had potential booty calls warn me of their pets in case I was allergic. The babysitter has exponentially more responsibility to clear any of this with parents for the kid’s sake or really anybody that lives there.” – letstrythisagain30
“Even if the homeowners didn’t have allergies, golden retrievers SHED like crazy. I knew a bunch in my college’s therapy dog program, and we used to joke about the ‘golden piles’ of fur they’d leave in their wake after they’d been petted for a while. Who was gonna clean that?”
“More concerning, what the f**k was the dog doing sniffing at a six-month-old baby and where was the sitter when this was happening?!”
“There seems to be a very strong possibility she left a large dog alone with a six-month-old or at least left it such that the dog was closer to the baby than the adult was. That’s a recipe for tragedy.”
“And beyond that, if someone else didn’t come to drop off the dog and it didn’t arrive with her, does that mean she left it in the car? Is someone who leaves a dog unattended in a vehicle, even in winter, someone we want watching a baby? Of course not.”
“And of all the s**tty reasons to leave a dog alone in the car, why do so at all if she didn’t expect the parents to mind? If she really thought it was fine, it would be much more sensible to show up at the agreed time like, ‘Hi, this is Fido, he’s great with kids, would you like to pet him before you go?'” – joseph_wolfstar
“For allergen reasons alone, the babysitter is TA, but also because some people have real phobias about dogs. I don’t think the baby was in danger, but it’s very suspect that she didn’t openly ask about the dog.” – NarlaRT
“Even if everything was 100% fine and good, I would think the parents would still want to be around for the first time their baby was with a new animal. Like, even if everything else was fine, what if the baby started showing allergy symptoms? If the parents don’t know it was exposed to a dog, then that’s an issue. Just like so many things could go wrong.” – Pokabrows
“NTA, you don’t bring an animal to someone else’s house without clearing it first. There are people who have serious allergies to certain pets, and babies can be exceptionally sensitive to that sort of thing. It is up to the parents to decide when and how they will introduce animals to their baby’s space.” – Spidermack
While many people in the subReddit loved dogs, they were appalled that the babysitter would bring her large dog on a babysitting job without asking first.
Simply put, so many things could go wrong, and without the parents knowing in advance the dog was there, they may not have responded as quickly as needed if there had been an emergency.