Father sparks debate as he leaves children’s pool party with son over pet dogs

A father has left a children’s pool party with his son after an issue he claims they “were not told about” ahead of time.

The pair were at the party of first graders, ready to enjoy the day, when they were approached by a dog who the father said “came up to us and sniffed and pawed at us”.

“I told it to get away, and it did,” the father explained on Reddit’s ‘AITA’ thread.

READ MORE: ‘This means so much for a little Australian girl’: Star’s emotional win

“My son does not like dogs since an incident at the park,” the concerned father explained, adding that he told the dog to “get away a few more times in the next few minutes”.

He then spotted “another dog outside”.

READ MORE: ‘Was waiting for these’: Fans in frenzy as $49 Bunnings buy returns

“We were not told about the dogs ahead of time and my son didn’t want to play with his friends as he was hesitant to be away from me,” he said.

The father said he’s “friendly with the host parents, but we don’t know each other outside of our kids’ activities”.

He says he “approached mum, thanked her for the invitation and complemented their house” and then, “asked her to lock the dogs away and explained the situation with my son”.

“She looked clearly annoyed at the request,” he said. “She told me she doesn’t react well to being locked away and asserted that they were friendly and safe.”

The father reiterated that his son “was not okay with dogs and didn’t want to be around them”.

“She said with the house full like this, the dogs want to be a part of the party and they wouldn’t be going anywhere,” he recalled.

“She was clearly not okay with my request and implied we wouldn’t be invited in the future.”

It was then that the father decided to leave the party with his son. He said his son “seemed okay with that decision as he perked up when we were in the car”.

“I got a text later from the host saying my request was inappropriate,” he explained, asking if he was the one who was out of line with his request.

Redditers were divided, with some agreeing that parents should have been warned dogs would be at the party.

“I do think hosts should warn party guests if there will be an animal, especially if locking up the pet isn’t an option, but guests with allergies and phobias should also reach out to party hosts and ask if there will be an animal if it would be problematic,” one said.

“Insanity. That’s like going to a birthday and being upset there are balloons because the pop made you scared and fall over,” another commented.

“Sounds more like dad is projecting his hate/fear of dogs onto the kid,” added another.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Khloe Kardashian throws extreme Octonauts party for True

Others felt the dad was out of line.

“It’s not about kids vs dogs, it’s about someone going over to someone’s house being rude and pushy,” one Redditor said.

“One nice, polite, and apologetic request is fine. Refusing to take no for an answer is not.”

READ MORE: We got hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+, here’s what we think

Another suggested a better approach would have been to “thank her for the invitation, but to explain that unfortunately, you wouldn’t be able to stay because of your son’s fear of dogs”.

“At that point, she could have offered to put the dogs away, but if she didn’t, you wouldn’t suggest it,” they explained.

“Give your gift to the birthday child, apologise for not staying, and leave. Or, stay, and give your son the opportunity to start to get over his fear in a low-stakes situation, where he could leave at any time,” they added.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.