I, 32 M, have been married to my wife Natalie, 30 F, for 4 years now. We have been living together with our 2 cats, Viktor and Warwick, since. The cats were mine before we got together, both of which I named after my favorite video game. Well, since Nat and I have been living together, she has been begging for a dog.
Nat grew up with a Golden Retriever which she adored, and she had been pleading for us to get one. I was hesitant at first. I've never been much of a dog guy and I was unsure how the cats would react to having a dog around. Well, this Christmas, as a late Christmas gift, I caved, and surprised Nat with a Retriever puppy. I gave her permission to name the dog anything she wanted.
B-ch. She chose B--ch.
She said it'd be funny, and she'd always thought naming a female dog 'B--ch' was comical. I found it less funny. Not only would vets look down on us, but every Sunday, Nat and I babysit the neighbor's kids, 8 F and 6 M.
What do we say when the kids ask about the fact the dog would have a collar with 'B--ch' on it? I thought it was stupid, and told her no. She told me I had just said she could name the dog, which is true, but I said I payed for the dog, and should at least approve the name. It's our dog after all. She said I was an AH for taking away the freedom to name the puppy. AITA?
UPDATE: Thank you all for the kind words and advice. My wife ended up finding out about this post through a Youtube short, which I find funny, since I never thought this post would blow up. I am at work now and we are trying to work it out over text, but my wife is still being pretty stubborn and she doesn't like how people are talking bad about her online now. Hoping we can reach a happy medium.
audreynstuff wrote:
I thought you were going to say something weird, not deplorable. Are yall planning on having kids...? NTA
OP responded:
We have been trying for kids. I tried making that point to her with naming the dog. She didn't seem to care.
imamage_fightme wrote:
NTA. Seriously, I am the last person to judge swearing, I'm Australian and I swear like one. But that is absolutely dumb. It's not appropriate on so many levels. Even outside of the vet and the neighbours - what about when she takes the dog for a walk or goes to the dog park? Is she really going to just call out to "b--ch"?
Does she honestly think no one is ever going to say something? Eventually you're gonna get some disgruntled parent coming up to ask why the hell you're calling out b--ch in front of their kids. There's a time and place and this is not it.
Crimson_Knight004 wrote:
NTA - Don’t people recommend giving dogs a name that’s 2 syllables because they find it easier to recognize? Or did I make that up? Regardless, this is trashy. The neighbors won’t appreciate their kids learning this word at your house and probably won’t want you sitting anymore. I think most people would probably find the name in poor taste and just think your wife is weird, not funny.
I remember veto-ing naming a dog of ours “Buddy,” because I inevitably call all dogs “buddy” sometimes regardless of what their name is, so the dog can still be called “buddy” sometimes while having a proper name.
Your wife could name this dog anything and still call her “b--ch” sometimes as an affectionate nickname if she really wants to. This dog is part of the family now, so names should probably be treated at least somewhat similarly to naming kids. A name requires two yeses and can’t move forward if there’s one no, especially a no as strong as this one.
Acuriouscoyote wrote:
I had some white trash neighbors that let their 5-year-old daughter name their dog. She named it "Sh*tty" because her parents would laugh when she would swear.
The parents didn't Veto it because "we told he she could name it".
Thank you for being mature enough not to lay over for an in appropriate name. And congratulations to your wife on having the same level of maturity as a 5-year-old raised by sh*t parents.
Carrie_Oakie wrote:
NTA for putting your foot down. Not just the vet - your wife just wants attention. She wants the reaction every time she tells someone the dogs name. This isn’t about the dog it’s about her getting more attention.
Not only that. God forbid something happens and this dog goes missing - imagine the lost dog fliers and messages. Not a single person will take you seriously. Vets and groomers are all going to judge you. You’re going to be that couple where friends are like “these are our friends…yeah the ones with the dog I told you about.”
YTA for marrying a teenager though. Because I refuse to believe a grown adult is this obtuse.
(JK, I know those adults. They at least names their dogs after alc-hol.)
FewProof2583 wrote:
My mom bought my dad a dog in the early 60’s. My dad named the dog “P-ssy Galore” after the Bond girl. The dog’s name was changed the first time my grandmother watched the dog. She said she refused to yell “P-ssy…come here p-ssy” every time she let the dog outside. The dog was promptly named ‘Pooka”.