For many pet owners, our pets are our babies. They are a part of our family and if anything happens to them, it’s devastating.
And if somebody ever joked about something bad happening to our pets? It’s over.
Unfortunately Reddit user AC3434E3 found herself in a situation where her husband WAS making jokes and pranks about her beloved dog’s health.
After a very powerful reaction, she went to the popular subReddit “Am I The A**hole?” or “AITA” to get some feedback.
She asked:
“AITA For Yelling at my husband then leaving him at the clinic after his prank?”
Our original poster, or OP, set up the scene by telling us how her husband has an affinity for pranks.
“Me F[emale]28 and my husband M[ale]34 have been married for a year. Before I met him I got a dog named Ollie (A German shepherd) that was originally my sister’s but she passed away and I immediately took him to live with me.”
“My husband adores Ollie he sometimes jokes that he’s married to me only because of Ollie. He likes making jokes and doing pranks but some of them are downright nasty.”
“He’d always get me worried by lying saying Ollie ran off when he was hiding him in a place I didn’t know about.”
“He knows how much worried and stressed out those pranks make me but he says my reaction is priceless and worth the yelling/lashing afterwards.”
And then came the prank that went way too far.
“Ollie needed to be taken to the veterinary clinic for a check-up. My husband said he’d handle it. During the second visit to get the results. I received a call from my husband and his voice sounded like he wasn’t okay.”
“I asked what was wrong. I got really worried after he said it was about Ollie. I was starting to shake I kept asking what was going on and he told me that Ollie’s been diagnosed with cancer.”
“He said he wanted me to come over to the clinic as soon as possible because Ollie was with the vet.”
“I couldn’t stand. I started asking is that why Ollie lost weight lately? And such. I rushed to the clinic and found my husband standing near the entrance with Ollie.”
Then she noticed immediately that he must have been “joking.”
“First thing I noticed was him laughing hysterically telling me that I really bought in to his lie. I was confused he said it was just a prank Ollie is perfectly healthy and handed me the results to check. After I checked I lost it. I lashed out at him.”
“Ngl I called him awful names and his face suddenly turned red like he didn’t expect me to react that way. He argued that I made it a big deal ‘obviously’ and was being mean to him over a prank that didn’t even last an hour.”
“I kept lashing out I didn’t give him a chance to keep talking I took Ollie and the keys then I left. I arrived to the clinic in a taxi. I left him at the clinic while me and Ollie went home by the car.”
After reacting and taking Ollie home, OP was confronted by her husband.
“3 hours later he came back and was upset. He usually laughs even in serious situations but this time he didn’t. He argued that I shouldn’t have left him like that and that I overreacted.”
“Said he was trying to make good memories to look back on and laugh at but I was unnecessarily overreacting. He stopped talking after that.”
“Just wanted to mention that this started months after his father’s passing. His family said he never mentions his dad nor keep anything of his although they were very close.”
“I never met his father but they told me he wasn’t suffering from anything and his death was sudden and my husband had a hard time processing it. This could be the reason for his behavior.”
Anonymous strangers weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
Redditors all agreed that OP’s husband took this one way too far.
“NTA. This isn’t a prank, this is abuse. He wanted you to feel like your beloved dog was dying. For his amusement. He laughed at your pain.”
“Even him hiding the dog and saying he ran away is unbelievably cruel. His words aside, I think he’s jealous of Ollie.”
“Forget leaving him at the clinic, you should consider leaving his lying, cruel a** entirely.”~Effulgencey
“Reminds me of my grandfather, who definitely was a proper nut.”
“He once called his wife’s (my grandma’s) family and told them she died so they all need to gather.”
“Her father went to hospital with heart attack and her mother nearly died when she called my grandma’s number and my grandma answered and was pretty annoyed that she was disturbed at work lol.”
“When asked why my grandfather did that, he said that he missed everyone and was sure no one would come for non emergency reasons.”
“NTA OP, run far away from this abuse. You deserve better.”~Maybe_too_honest_
“NTA. I’ve had that same phone call OP received and it devastated me.”
“If it had turned out my husband was lying to me about our dog having cancer I would never have forgiven him.”
“I would’ve taken the dog and left that day.”~LateralPlanet
“You should reevaluate this relationship. But if you need an exit plan and love this dog make sure the dog is registered in you name, and never let him be alone with the dog.”
“Im not saying he will hurt the dog, but he might try to keep the dog from you if you leave him. Although him hiding the dog from you could cause the dog some anxiety and distress.”
“Also pranks only work when everyone involved enjoys them. When one doesn’t, it becomes abuse. This is beyond messed up.”~Asocial_dragon
And some people are even advising her this behavior may be abuse that is escalating.
“I would file for divorce like yesterday. He is enjoying your pain!! Anyone who treats me like this is out of my life immediately.”
“I agree with others that he needs therapy but you don’t have to let him emotionally torture you and put up with this torment just because he has issues related to his father’s death.”
“Those issues are just explications, not excuses. You don’t treat someone you love, respect, care about like this, you don’t traumatise them on purpose… “
“At some point you have to put yourself and your well-being first. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want help and you shouldn’t hurt yourself trying to do so. It’s not your responsibility to fix him, only he can fix himself.”
“Maybe the divorce over his behaviour (or when he is finally completely alone, because even his family cuts him out) would be the wake-up call he needs to finally get some (a LOT of) professional help.”
“Unfortunately therapy is not a miracle, it has its limits, but probably it could help him to at least some extent.”
“But you are not obligated to stay with a sadist, someone who enjoys hurting you and others, hoping that years down the road maybe the results of his therapy will be somewhat noticeable.”
“OP those are not jokes, pranks, I would call them emotional, psychological abuse! And it seems his behaviour is escalating.”
“About him hiding/locking up that poor dog, being almost obsessed about his death, disappearance…, to me it wouldn’t feel safe to leave my dog alone with him ever again… I wouldn’t trust him with the dog or in any serious situation.”
“NTA for yelling and leaving him there, he got away with it easily, he has no right to be mad at you or gaslight you… (my reaction would have been worse btw).”
“But you are/will be an a**hole to yourself if you don’t put your foot down now one way or another (therapy, divorce…) I hope you are not planning to have kids with him…You and Ollie deserve better! Please update us”~Cute-Shine-1701
“NTA.”
“Get divorce papers printed, hand them to him and then after 1 hour laugh in his face, that it was a prank. Or not. 🤷♀️”~Cocoasneeze
“Look at a picture of him and tell it the following sentences:”
“You get off on my misery.”
“Nothing is funnier to you than my tears and pain.”
“The more you hurt me the more you laugh.”
“You hurt me intentionally for a laugh.”
“You want to hurt me again for a laugh.”
“You believe me being in misery and pain is a good memory.”
“You want many good memories of you causing me misery and pain.”
“You like to look back at the moments you hurt me until I cried and smile.”
“You find more and more cruel ways to cause me pain for more laughs.”
“Say these aloud. Direct them at his smiling picture. Then take a deep breath.”
“If you now still feel like doing so, calmly tell one or two of these to his face. No tears, no yelling, just blank facts. See what excuses he finds if you believe there’s worth in it.”
“NTA. May he shut his cruel, sadist mouth for a long time.”~pokethejellyfish
“NTA. Your husband is a Grade A, Class 1, total and complete AH.”
“What he’s doing is not funny, but abusive, considering how this affects you mentally and physically. You did not, nor do not ‘overreact.'”
“You had every right to leave him like that and if didn’t like it, then maybe he should be rethinking his idea of humor.”
“If you plan on staying married to this AH, you might want to sit down and have a long discussion about what is and is not funny.”~ArtistanPerspective
If he is an abuser, OP has a choice to make.
“What is that term used to describe abusers? DARVO?”
“I think it goes: Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim and Offender.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just a prank for good memories.”
“YOU are blowing this out of proportion. You’re an asshole for leaving me at the clinic.”
“YOU yelled at me, YOU are the problem. YOU are over reacting and causing this fight so I’m not talking to you until YOU apologize.”
“He has lost friends over a similar cruel prank pretending a friend was dead. He’s using emotions and things you love and care about AS A JOKE. NTA.”~ebwoods1
“NTA and you should leave him if this behavior doesn’t improve. What if you weren’t arriving by taxi and drove upset after one of his pranks and had an accident?”
“Can you actually trust him with your dog ever again? What if he thinks a prank is not telling you that the dog has a serious condition?”
“What happens if you have kids and he ‘pranks’ you that one fell in the playground and is in hospital with a broken arm?”
“He is a massive AH.”~Dinosaurus84
“NTA and I don’t know where to start, but your husband is abusing you mentally.”
“He is being incredibly cruel and if you were to post this on a social network like Facebook he’d lose every emotionally healthy friend he has.”
“You deserve massively more respect from him than you’re getting. Frankly this level of abuse is toxic to the point of destroying a lot of relationships.”
“Hope that you do whatever it takes to arrive at a healthy relationship.”~ExPostRedemptore
“NTA. Good memories? For who? Why is the emotional torture of his wife funny? These pranks are at your expense SOLEY for his amusement.”
“Would he think a swift kick to his testicles would be a funny prank? I bet he would make a super funny face!! It’d be worth it for your amusement, no matter how much it hurt him! /s”
“He is a HUGE a**hole.”~Kamikazebonfire
OP’s husband was most definitely out of line here.
If she continues to stay with him and this behavior keeps going, it has the potential to get infinitely worse.