Man Storming Out of Engagement Dinner Over Fiancée's Dog Obsession Backed

An engagement dinner should make for an exciting evening ahead of all the wedding planning, but internet users have backed a man who stormed out of his own celebration due to his fiancée's behavior.

The disastrous engagement celebration led Reddit user u/National-Paint-7928 to post about his experience on May 31. He wrote about the romantic trip he planned for them both after popping the question, but all his fiancée was concerned about was her 5-year-old golden retriever mix.

"I booked a nice hotel and made reservations at a nice restaurant," the post reads. "One of our close friends stayed with the dog. My fiancée asked her to text with an update every two hours. I did my best to make it a wonderful weekend."

Despite how hard the Reddit user tried to make the weekend romantic and blissful for them both, his 27-year-old fiancée couldn't draw her attention away from the dog at home. The post explained that she "spent the entire dinner on her phone" trying to contact the dog-sitter. "I paid for the meal and got up from the table, telling her that I was going to wait in the car. She came out 20 minutes later, screaming at me for leaving her at the table."

A 2022 survey of 1,000 adults conducted by YouGov showed the tight bond between owners and their pets, highlighting just how much the animals mean to them. The survey revealed that, among the 58 percent of participants with a pet, nine in 10 consider them to be a part of the family.

Not only are pets an integral part of the family dynamic, but 51 percent of dog owners consider themselves to be their pet's parent. This notion was less popular among cat owners, though, as 43 percent said they are their cat's parent.

There's little doubt that getting a pet is a huge commitment, and while 62 percent of owners say they have the upper hand, there were 10 percent who believe their pet is in charge within their home.

An owner being controlled by their pet's needs isn't advisable. Psychiatrist Carole Liberman told Newsweek there may be a backstory as to why the poster's fiancée puts her dog before the relationship.

Lieberman said: "It's great to have a dog and love it, but she takes this to an unhealthy level. His fiancée is overly obsessed with her dog.

"Storming out of the restaurant wasn't cool, but it's understandable that he'd had it with her putting the dog first. I think you should call off your engagement because she is not ready to put any man first," Lieberman added.

"She may have had experiences with men who hurt her, and she's afraid you won't be as loyal as her dog is."

After storming out of the dinner, the poster told his fiancée that she "ruined our engagement trip for putting the dog" first. Although user u/National-Paint-7928 feels that her actions caused the outburst, he has been on the receiving end of the backlash.

Fortunately, the Reddit post has received over 9,800 votes and more than 2,100 comments since it was shared. The majority of respondents didn't feel like the poster had done anything wrong, and many even encouraged him to call off the engagement.

One comment read: "Call off the engagement – she's already married to the dog."

Another person wrote: "your fiancé cares about her dog more than her future life partner. She wasn't mentally present there with you anyway."

Newsweek reached out to u/National-Paint-7928 via direct message for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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