A dog owner has shared how his sister-in-law banned him and his wife from seeing their nephew because of the name they picked for their dog.
Taking to Reddit, the man explained that he thought of the name first and when his sister-in-law heard of it, she immediately liked it for her baby boy.
“My wife and I have a few cats and we’ve been talking about getting a dog for the past year. We don’t have any kids,” the man wrote.
“Three months ago, my wife’s sister and her husband were at our house and at the time she was eight months pregnant with a boy. They already have a girl so this was their second kid,” he continued.
“They hadn’t decided on a name for him at the time.
“At one point in the conversation I told them that I was going to get a dog finally as I’ve always wanted one and never had one growing up – I’m 37.
“My wife was really happy I was finally getting my dog. I mentioned that I was going to name him Merlin. I’ve had that name ‘saved’ for him since I was a kid.”
His sister-in-law and her husband looked at each other then asked if they could use Merlin for their baby boy.
“I said, sure, but I’m naming my dog that just so they know. They got all mad and told me not to do that as a son was more important,” the dog owner went on.
“I said, who cares if they both have the same name. It’s just a dog and I thought of it first and had that name thought of since I was a kid.
“They basically forbid me to name my impending dog Merlin.”
A month after the sister-in-law gave birth, the man adopted a German shepherd and named him Merlin.
“I posted pics of Merlin online and immediately started getting texts from my sister-in-law and her husband telling me to rename my dog,” he said.
“My wife and I think it’s so silly they’re upset – especially since it was my name first. They refuse to come over or have us over to see their son Merlin until I officially rename my dog.
“My wife and I refuse to rename Merlin. We absolutely 100 per cent will not rename him.”
People on Reddit were quick to share their thoughts on the matter, with many agreeing that the sister-in-law was in the wrong.
“I think they’re overreacting, I feel like both can have the name and it’s not that weird. But either way you had it first so can’t blame you,” one person commented.
“They’re being super childish and selfish. You’re finally fulfilling a childhood dream and thought of the name first,” another added.
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