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Woman Refuses To Let Homeless Parents Occupy Her Pet Room, Wonders If She’s Being Cruel
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Woman Refuses To Let Homeless Parents Occupy Her Pet Room, Wonders If She’s Being Cruel

Woman Refuses To Let Homeless Parents Occupy Her Pet Room, Wonders If She's Being CruelParents Accuse Daughter Of Making Them Homeless After She Won’t Let Them Take Over Pets’ RoomParents Demand Daughter Upheave Pet Room So They Can Stay In It, She Forbids Them From ComingWoman Gets Called Disrespectful For Not Giving Up Her Pet Room So Her Broke Parents Can Move In“Extremely Disrespectful”: Family Drama Ensues When Woman Lets Parents Use Her Pets’ RoomParents Accuse Daughter Of Leaving Them Homeless Because She Refuses To Give Them Her Pet Room“AITA For Not Letting My Parents Move In With Me Because I Don’t Want To Give Up My Pets’ Room?”Woman Refuses To Give Up Her Pet Room So Her Parents Can Move In, Gets Called DisrespectfulWoman Dedicates A Room In Her House To Her Pets, Refuses To Let Her Homeless Parents Stay ThereWoman Refuses To Give Up Pet Room To Let Homeless Parents Live There, Gets Support Online
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We all love to spoil our pets just a little too much. After all, who can say no to their adorable, fuzzy (or scaly) faces? But a few pet owners sometimes end up going above and beyond to make sure their furry friends have the best possible living conditions.

A woman wondered if she was wrong for refusing to allow her homeless parents to sleep in the room she had designated for her pets. Despite her offering the couch as an alternative, they preferred to stay in a hotel. Netizens debated whether she should have helped them out or they should have been happy with the living arrangements she offered.

Pet owners tend to put a lot of effort into pampering their little friend

Image credits: Chewy / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

But one woman’s parents called her out for not letting them stay in her “pet room”

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Image credits: OldTarwater / Reddit (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Mizuno K / Pexels (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Sonodemaisbicho

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

There are a lot of pluses to pet ownership

Given the current economic climate, many folks opt to have a pet instead of having a child, while many families have both. In the US, nearly 70% of households report having at least one pet at home, which indicates an increase in pet ownership of about 20% since the 1990s. The most popular pet is a cat, closely followed by dogs.

Besides being cute and fun to be around, pet ownership comes with a number of benefits. Dog ownership has been correlated with a decreased likelihood of dying from heart disease, although scientists believe that it’s not the dog itself, per se, but the fact that the owner needs to walk it, take it out to do its business, and play with it.

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However, in most cases, pets do help decrease stress and improve blood pressure, both of which do have measurable, positive effects on a person’s health. Other research suggests that a pet is correlated with reduced anxiety and depression, so all in all, pet owners have a lot they can thank their little friends for.

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The real issue isn’t the pets, it’s the parent’s behavior in the past and present

So it seems only fair that OP would want to provide a very comfortable living environment for her pets. Unfortunately, we all most likely know someone who either neglects their pets or simply has too many to take care of properly. So a person who has worked hard to buy a home (like OP) is well within their rights to do what they want, even if that extends to the animals living in a room set aside just for them.

Of course, the real crux of this story isn’t really the pets, it’s OP’s relationship with her parents. She has stated that they were quite controlling, to the point where she had to get therapy to help herself. It might appear that even if the room was vacant, she still might not let them stay there, as she has made a point to keep them out of her life.

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While some commenters (you can find their posts further down in the article) argue that she should still help her parents out, it’s also worth noting that healthy boundaries, particularly with controlling people, are vital. As some other comments note, it could be hard to ensure that “crashing on the sofa” for a few days doesn’t turn into weeks and months.

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

There are other ways OP could help her parents

The pets are, perhaps, a convenient excuse, but even if they didn’t exist, OP isn’t perhaps entitled to hand over a whole room to her folks. After all, they turned down the living room, which is a fruitless and dramatic gesture from people who are literally homeless. If she does decide to help them, perhaps she can provide some money to stay at a hotel while they find some longer-term solution.

However, OP’s parents do appear to be quite proud for no apparent reason and will perhaps decline financial support if they are feeling slighted. This is ridiculous behavior for people who have nowhere to go, but it would explain why OP was so hesitant to let them stay in the first place.

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Some folks needed more info

Many thought she was entitled to do what she wanted with her own space

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But some thought it was cruel to leave her parents effectively homeless

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Indrė Lukošiūtė

Indrė Lukošiūtė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I am a Visual editor at Bored Panda, I'm determined to find the most interesting and the best quality images for each post that I do. On my free time I like to unwind by doing some yoga, watching all kinds of movies/tv shows, playing video and board games or just simply hanging out with my cat

Read less »

Indrė Lukošiūtė

Indrė Lukošiūtė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I am a Visual editor at Bored Panda, I'm determined to find the most interesting and the best quality images for each post that I do. On my free time I like to unwind by doing some yoga, watching all kinds of movies/tv shows, playing video and board games or just simply hanging out with my cat

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Jihana
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That one comment is bonkers. "kind to give you life". Excuse me? You don't owe your parents ANYTHING. It was THEIR decision to have a child, if anything they owe you.

Zedrapazia
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly, with abusive s**t parents, she shouldn't even be ashamed if the room was empty and she still wouldn't give it to these assbucks.

Load More Replies...
Alethea Fletcher
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If this was a woman posting about an ex husband, who had controlled her in the way her parents did, everyone would be pointing out to her that said control was actually abuse. Financial abuse. Psychological abuse. Holding her prisonernin her own home if she didn't meet the standard he set for her. And they would also be shouting out "don't let him move in". .... ..... Her parents did this. They abused her every day of her childhood and teens. This woman has made incredible progress in healing herself. And yet some at still saying "these people are your parents, you owe them your life, YATA..let them move in". I mean, seriously, those calling her TA have never lived with abuse or control. They are so very fortunate not to. Meaning...never ever offer advice to someone who has lived with it, unless it is to support them in making a clean break.

CanadianDimes
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! Drives me nuts when people talk about not holding grudges. This is not a grudge. This is her cutting her abusers out of her life. Plus we are all allowed to dislike people - that is not the same as holding a grudge.

Load More Replies...
BrownTabby
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP is TA for omitting from the headline the highly salient detail that the parents were controlling.

WindySwede
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And comments saying, "forget about past" .. but the controlling would just continue? Or, then just forget they are parents at all...?

Load More Replies...
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Jihana
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That one comment is bonkers. "kind to give you life". Excuse me? You don't owe your parents ANYTHING. It was THEIR decision to have a child, if anything they owe you.

Zedrapazia
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly, with abusive s**t parents, she shouldn't even be ashamed if the room was empty and she still wouldn't give it to these assbucks.

Load More Replies...
Alethea Fletcher
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If this was a woman posting about an ex husband, who had controlled her in the way her parents did, everyone would be pointing out to her that said control was actually abuse. Financial abuse. Psychological abuse. Holding her prisonernin her own home if she didn't meet the standard he set for her. And they would also be shouting out "don't let him move in". .... ..... Her parents did this. They abused her every day of her childhood and teens. This woman has made incredible progress in healing herself. And yet some at still saying "these people are your parents, you owe them your life, YATA..let them move in". I mean, seriously, those calling her TA have never lived with abuse or control. They are so very fortunate not to. Meaning...never ever offer advice to someone who has lived with it, unless it is to support them in making a clean break.

CanadianDimes
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! Drives me nuts when people talk about not holding grudges. This is not a grudge. This is her cutting her abusers out of her life. Plus we are all allowed to dislike people - that is not the same as holding a grudge.

Load More Replies...
BrownTabby
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP is TA for omitting from the headline the highly salient detail that the parents were controlling.

WindySwede
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And comments saying, "forget about past" .. but the controlling would just continue? Or, then just forget they are parents at all...?

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
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