'My girlfriend cheated on me so I 'stole' her dog and now her friends say I'm a jerk'

Breakups are riddled with drama, whether they are amicable or messy. Deciding who gets the weird statue you got at a flea market together or who becomes the permanent owner of a shared pet never ends well. On a popular Reddit thread in the Am I the A**hole Subreddit, a man going through a breakup is reminded that his ex will not go down easy.

AITA for 'stealing' a dog I got for my girlfriend?

Couples that pick a dog together end up together.

I, M26, know a girl who is fostering rescue dogs. She had a pregnant dog for which she found a home after the puppies were weaned and the dog was fixed. I had arranged to get one of the puppies for my girlfriend, 23. We had gone together and picked one out.

I did not have a dog since I left for school when I was 17, so I was pretty excited to have a furry buddy again.

Wait, did my last relationship end because I didn't get her a 'moving-in-with-me gift?'

We went shopping, and I picked up everything we would need for the puppy. The dog was going to be her moving-in-with-me gift.

Okay, that's not why my ex and I broke up.

She had slightly different plans and hooked up with her ex because she was stressed about moving in with me. So she won't be moving in with me. I boxed up the cr*p she had at my house, and she's gone.

Gifts are all about making sure the receiver is in debt to you.

But she still wants the puppy. I told my friend that the puppy was mine and that under no circumstances was she to give him to my ex. My friend knows that I paid for everything and regularly gave her money to help her with her fostering. So when the puppy is ready to be re-homed, he is coming with me.

Now my ex is calling me and texting me, saying that I am stealing her dog since I promised him to her. She even had her dad call me and say we had a verbal contract that it was her dog. I did not tell him why she wasn't moving in.

Okay, someone should take the Bar exam.

I told him the puppy was a 'moving in' gift. So since she will NEVER be moving in, our contract is null and void. Her friends are cr*pping on me for keeping a gift.

My friends are saying she can p*ss up a rope but not mentioning why she isn't moving in because I asked them not to. So am I the a**hole for keeping him?

Confident_Cat_5938 says:

You haven't stolen sh*t; you paid for everything. It's yours, and the weak attempt from the father saying 'verbal contract' is f*cking laughable.

Good on you, and shame on her for acting this way and her dad for enabling her. NTA (Not the A**hole).

CakePhool says:

NTA. You need to tell people why she is not moving in.

OP responded:

I'm not. My friends know, but that's it. And a bunch of internet randoms I guess. But this is anonymous.

misledgorilla says:

NTA. It was a conditional gift. Like an engagement ring. You don't get married; you give the ring back. She doesn't move in; she doesn't keep the pup.

Conditional gifts are meant to be taken away, OP! Your dog theft has been deemed righteous.