An angry mother has been criticised for giving away her daughter's dog after she cheated on a school assignment.
The mum said that she felt she had to teach her daughter that there are consequences for her actions - but has wondered if the move was too extreme.
Seeking advice on the discussion forum Reddit, she explained that while her daughter is clever, she does not work hard enough when it comes to schooling.
The anonymous mum wrote: "My daughter has always been that smart kid who relies purely on that to go from grade to grade.
"She never does her homework, never pays attention in class and studies the very morning of a test.
"Miraculously she still good enough marks in all her subjects except for history."
According to her, she warned her daughter that she would give away the family dog if she scored under 80% on a school essay.
She added: "She didn't take me seriously but agreed that she'll even get an 80."
Initially, the news was good as her girl arrived home with a decent mark.
"We laughed about it and when the results came back she got 78%...and took her out for a celebratory lunch out with her father", the mother wrote.
But this happiness soon wore off after something was uncovered in her daughter's room that revealed the truth.
She wrote: "Today I was cleaning up in her room and found this box filled with old papers and tests from the previous year.
"After looking through a few I saw an essay which looked familiar.
"I read it and felt that there was something off so I took it and asked my daughter if I could re-read her one, they were almost identical.
"When I confronted her about it she lied and said it was her first draft.
"Finally at the end she said it was Debbie's (an older friend of hers) who wrote it for the same assignment a couple years back.
"I did get upset and shouted at her before she went off to her room."
True to her word, she responded by picking up the family dog and giving it to the neighbours.
Needless to say, the move upset her daughter and has caused the mum to question her decision.
The anonymous mother finished: "She's been crying ever since and her father is calling me an a****** but I feel like she needs to understand that there are consequences for every action." Am I the a******?"
Readers of the post were quick to respond, and they were not happy.
One response read: "Dogs are pets and part of the family. They aren't punishments. Find a different way to punish her. You are punishing the dog too and it didn't do anything wrong."
Another said: "How a person treats animals says a lot about their character and the fact that she gave the dog away to “punish” her daughter is absolutely disgusting and abusive.
"I would be going to the neighbour’s house to retrieve the dog and then starting divorce paperwork.
"What she did was absolutely cruel and god only knows what else she’s capable of."
Do you think this mum did the right thing? Let us know in the comments below.
