A responsible pet owner takes care of their pets, but in today’s story, the neighbors move out and don’t take their dog.

A woman who lives nearby decides to take care of the dog, and when the former neighbors eventually come back to get their dog, she refuses to give him back.

Now, she’s not sure what she should do.

Let’s see how the story unfolds…

AITA for refusing to let my neighbor take back the dog they abandoned?

I (28F) live in a pretty quiet neighborhood and have always loved animals.

About six months ago, my next-door neighbors, “Mark” and “Julie,” moved out of their house and completely abandoned their dog, “Buddy” (a 4-year-old Golden Retriever).

They didn’t say a word about it—just left him tied up in the backyard with a bag of food and water.

When I realized what had happened, I was furious.

Who leaves a dog behind like that?

Mark and Julie wouldn’t respond to her calls about Buddy.

I immediately took Buddy in and made sure he was safe and fed.

Over the next few days, I tried contacting Mark and Julie to find out what was going on.

They ignored all my calls and texts, so I figured they didn’t care and had intentionally left Buddy behind.

I ended up deciding to keep him.

She loves Buddy, but now Mark wants him back.

Buddy is the sweetest dog I’ve ever met, and he quickly became a huge part of my life.

I took him to the vet, got him vaccinated, and made sure he was healthy.

It’s been six months, and he’s like family to me now.

He’s happy, healthy, and honestly living his best life.

Then, last week, Mark randomly showed up at my door, saying they “wanted Buddy back.”

Mark tried to convince her to give Buddy back to him.

Apparently, they had some personal issues and had to leave town quickly, but now that things had settled, they were ready to bring him home.

I was shocked.

I told Mark there was no way I was giving Buddy back after they abandoned him for six months without any contact.

Mark got really defensive, saying that Buddy was their dog, and I had “stolen” him.

He accused me of taking advantage of their situation and guilt-tripped me by saying that he and Julie had just been going through a tough time and needed a fresh start.

He claimed that Buddy was “better off with them” since he’s their dog, and they had raised him for years.

She still thinks she should keep Buddy.

I told him straight up that Buddy was staying with me.

If they cared so much about him, they wouldn’t have left him behind like he was nothing.

I reminded him that I had spent time and money taking care of Buddy when they couldn’t be bothered to even let me know what was going on.

I told him that Buddy has a new home now and that I wasn’t about to uproot him just because they suddenly decided they wanted to play the responsible pet owners again.

Now, Mark and Julie are furious.

They’ve been going around the neighborhood, telling people I “stole” their dog and that I’m a terrible person for not giving him back.

FYI they’re living at a hotel and will leave sometime this week.

I feel like I’m doing the right thing by keeping Buddy, but AITAH?

The dog would’ve starved to death if she hadn’t stepped in and took care of him.

It’s ridiculous for Mark to act like he’s a good pet owner and should get the dog back.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…

This reader points out what would’ve happened if she hadn’t taken care of Buddy.

Another reader credits her for saving Buddy’s life.

This person isn’t sure if the law is on her side.

Another reader thinks she is making the right decision.

This reader points out that the dog wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for her.

I’m surprised the neighbors came back and expected their dog to still be alive.

They definitely don’t deserve a dog.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.