Even when we’re among our family members, there’s no guarantee that we will all like the same activities. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to try to spice things up for everyone!
But sometimes it’s wildly inconsiderate, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
While watching her younger brother’s soccer game, Redditor aitadogdefense proceeded to do nothing when her dog ran out onto the field and disrupted the game.
But when her mother later called her out for being inconsiderate, the Original Poster (OP) questioned how big of a deal it was to let her dog play the game.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for not doing anything when my dog ran on the field at my little brother’s soccer game?”
The OP’s dog recently disrupted a soccer game.
“I (16 Female) have a two-year-old dog that loves to chase everything.”
“My little brother (8) had a soccer game and I wanted to take my dog walking around the park.”
“I let go of his leash to tie my shoes and he ran onto the field, stole the ball, and was running around the field so proud of himself with a group of eight-year-olds chasing him.”
The OP was thoroughly entertained.
“I know either my dad (my dad coaches my brother’s team) or I should’ve done something, but it was hilarious.”
“We couldn’t stop laughing.”
But there were consequences.
“My dog has since been banned from my brother’s soccer game (after plenty of jokes about him having better defense than the entire team).”
“My mom was also mad at me for ‘ruining’ the game. It was a six- to eight-year-old soccer game. It was by far the most entertaining part of the game. H**l, some parents gave him some of their fries.”
“Anyways, my mom insists that my dad and I were in the wrong.”
“Were we the a**holes for not doing anything about my dog having better defense than the rest of the team?”
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 pointed out that this had nothing to do with the team’s defensive line.
“Dogs don’t belong near soccer practice or games. It’s dangerous to the kids and to the dog. And who wants a dog chewing on their soccer ball?”
“My kid used to have soccer practice at a field where people would let their dogs go off-leash. So many kids lost soccer balls, and so many dogs almost got kicked or stepped on. Kids stepping in dog poo. And one dog even ran up and p**sed on a lady watching the game.” – lark_song
“YTA. I only had to read the title and the first paragraph to know OP is the TA.”
“My dog isn’t great around other dogs or kids so amazingly we keep her at home in those situations. It’s really not that hard.”
“OP, if you don’t have the common sense to either train your dog or keep the dog at home so it doesn’t hurt itself or others, you need to re-home your dog to someone who will take the time to properly take care of it.” – Sassaphras-680
“Next time it could be a car and off goes Fido, where did he go? Oh, he got hit by a car, so sad too bad, maybe you should have trained him.”
“YTA, he ‘likes to chase everything’ because you haven’t taught him to sit, stay, or drop it.”
“What happens when he goes after a kid because ‘OMG, something’s moving’? Your dog is the one who gets put down and the kid gets stitches. You need to be a better pet parent or just rehome the dog to someone who WILL teach it manners.” – dependabledepression
“YTA. Just because you prob think your dog is ‘cute’ doesn’t mean everyone else does.”
“And it certainly doesn’t mean you should just let it do whatever, especially not in the middle of a children’s soccer game where the kids (and their parents) could’ve very well been hurt or at the very least terrified by some random dog running around on the field with them.”
“(I know you find that ‘hilarious’ but, again, many people are afraid of dogs, especially strange dogs…)”
“Stop being a bad dog owner, control your dog.” – dragonfruitrollup
“YTA. Your dog could just as easily have bitten one of the children, especially if they had tried to get the ball back. You exposed your parents to a potential lawsuit.”
“It is a ‘hilarious’ story, but a pet owner is responsible for keeping control of their pet in public. Period.” – 1962Michael
Others agreed and questioned if the OP liked her little brother at all.
“YTA. Even if you think you think it was just a ‘six- to eight-year-old soccer game,’ it was important to your brother, and your lack of responsibility over your dog trivialized it.” – Curious_Puffin
“YTA for how you talk about your brother. Those kinds of comments from older siblings absolutely destroy kids feeling of self-worth and destroy their passion for things they used to love.”
“No kidding, 8-year-olds aren’t good at soccer. Do you think you were any better at his age? Hint – you weren’t. Whatever activity you did (maybe it was soccer or dance, or piano, or art, doesn’t matter what) you sucked at it when you were 8 too.”
“Did your dad tell you he’d rather watch a dog run around than suffer through being in your presence as you practiced an activity you enjoyed? I bet he didn’t. I bet he volunteered to coach or support your activity too.”
“That’s what you do with kids. You tell them you enjoy whatever they’re passionate about and support them as they learn and get better. You celebrate their small victories, not tear them down and tell them they suck at soccer and you somehow ‘improved’ the experience because they suck so much an animal is better than them.”
“It doesn’t matter if it was true, it was cruel and you’re too old to be such a d**k to little kids.” – KissItOnTheMouth
“YTA, you and your dad.”
“You showed how much you cared about your brother by laughing and dismissing your actions as ‘it was by far the most entertaining part of a six- to eight-year-old game.'”
“You are very, very lucky. Not only that your dog didn’t attack anyone but because no one was allergic to your dog.”
“You are also lucky none of the kids were reactive or other dogs that could have been reactive were there that could have caused injury to your dog.” – Oridinary-Field3791
“Tell me you don’t respect your brother’s soccer games without telling me you don’t respect your brother’s soccer games. Apparently, these kids aren’t performing up to your standards, and that means they deserve to be interrupted and disrespected? YTA.”
“Not to mention, you also wasted the time of everyone else there in attendance. Other families who had to be there longer because of your disruption.” – Overall-Section-4386
“YTA already just from this. You should never let a dog run free in a public place. Sooo many things can go wrong, I can’t even begin to list them all. I find it impossibly unlikely that you couldn’t manage his leash and still tie your shoe.”
“You’re also TA for letting him ruin your brother’s game. To you, it’s just little kids so it’s no big deal, to your brother and his team it’s probably a huge deal to have a match interrupted.” – Perifide01
“YTA for letting your dog off the leash in public.”
“And YTA for talking like your brother’s game was not important. It was important to your brother, to other kids playing, and to their parents. None of them was there to watch your dog steal the show.” – RedSAuthor
“YTA. Haven’t bothered to train your dog, take no responsibility for it in a park, have a whinge that people were annoyed by you, and complain about your little brother having fun.” – PhilosopherOk221
Some challenged the OP to gain attention for herself somewhere else.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if OP was either bored or just wanted attention and did it on purpose.” – Morning_Song
“Of course YTA. It’s YOUR dog and YOU let go of the leash. You let the dog upstage a bunch of kids for no reason. If something had happened and the dog hurt one of the kids during this, it would have a hundred percent been your fault.”
“Be more careful with your dog or don’t have one.” – Leah-theRed
“YTA. It’s not funny and it’s not cute.”
“Maybe there’s somewhere else for you to get the attention you so desperately crave.” – Frosty-Mall4727
“‘It was by far the most entertaining part of the game.’ Everybody is there so the kids can play soccer, not your dog.”
“Even if they were bored to tears, they just want the game to be over and to go home. Nobody thought, ‘Wow, thank goodness that dog showed up, or else the afternoon would have been a total loss.'”
“Don’t ruin others’ good time just because you think it’s lame. YTA.” – SmitedDirtyBird
“Even asking ‘AITA because my dog has better defense’ screams YTA. The soccer game was for six-year-olds, not dogs. I don’t know why OP needs more attention than little kids.” – SunflowerDaydream893
“So you just ‘happened’ to be walking by the soccer game and just (coincidentally of course) ‘happened’ to let go of the leash? So after this incident, all the attention was on you!”
“Come on OP, your Mom and Dad were at the game; no one was paying attention to you and you decided to fix that. Right?” – briomio
“OP was bored and jealous and thought she’d get some attention on herself, all while interrupting the game for both her brother and the other players and observers and possibly affecting the outcome.” – Anniemaniac
There was obviously more to this story than a teenager simply letting go of a leash. No matter the underlying cause, whether it be boredom or jealousy or something else, OP needed to be more mindful of her dog’s safety in the future, as well as her brother’s feelings.