Woman Has Problems With Furious Ex Who Threatens To Involve Cops If He Isn’t Granted Joint Custody Of ‘Their’ Dog

“Mike isn’t our dog, he’s MY dog!”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• February 9, 2024

There were a couple of things our narrator (Original Poster) was sure she wanted in life, and one of them was to adopt a dog. As they say—our closest companions often walk on four paws, and OP wanted a four-legged sidekick of our own.

So, a few months into a new relationship, OP rescued Mike from a shelter, and he became a part of the family. Her boyfriend had already moved into her apartment, so in a way, Mike sort of became ‘their dog.’

Emphasis on ‘sort of’ because OP single-handedly adopted him, micro-chipped him, then signed all the papers. A dog can only have one master, and Mike made it pretty clear who his master was. So, legally and emotionally, Mike belonged to her.

Four years down the line, the once-blossoming relationship took a different turn. They settled on an amicable breakup, but things quickly became awkward when OP’s boyfriend demanded ‘shared custody’ of Mike. Excuse me, what? 

Someone pull out the hidden cameras cause this had to be the punchline of a scripted comedy show—OP couldn’t be hearing right. 

Oh, but she was. He even took things further after her firm refusal by threatening to call the police on her for stealing ‘his dog.’ Well, OP would just love to see exactly how that’d play out, especially after pulling out the documents with her name.

She obviously wasn’t giving Mike up, but her ex still had the apartment keys since he wasn’t done moving his stuff. Was Mike safe, or should she be worried about a grab-and-run?

The story in detail

A bit of background

The couple decided to split, only for OP’s boyfriend to try and gain custody of the dog

OP refused letting her now ex have his way. This got him pretty upset. Worst of all, she feared that he might attempt to steal the dog

Too long, didn’t read

We gathered some reactions from the Reddit community:

Best advice!

“I hate to break this to John, but animals are considered property, he doesn't get shared custody as he would with a kid.”

“Pay the fee to your landlord to have your locks changed ASAP.”

“If he steals the dog and take Mike to a new vet claiming that Mike is his, he could theoretically get a second chip implanted with his information.”

“Change the locks and consider boarding your pup with family or friends until you feel secure.”

“People have no problem entering your property when they feel entitled to an animal. Change the locks. Right now.”

The overwhelming majority declared that OP’s ex is the ultimate a**hole in this story.

The advice rang loud—don’t risk leaving Mike alone until the locks are changed. If her ex manages to get his hands on Mike, the cops would most likely brush it off as a civil matter and leave Mike with him pending a rough and expensive legal battle.

The verdict? I’d change those locks right away if I were you, OP. 

Do you agree with the commenters? Share your thoughts with us.

Jesse