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An employee at an animal shelter was accused of being “fatphobic” after turning down an obese woman who wanted to adopt a dog.
The worker wrote a long post on Reddit, which has since been deleted, share that Rocky was at the shelter because his original owners “didn’t have the time/energy to care for him,” according to the U.K. Sun.
The employee had zero luck finding someone who could keep up with the dog’s activity level – until the woman in question attended an adoption event.
“Rocky jumped on a woman and attacked her with kisses. Instead of pushing him away, she embraced him,” they detailed.
“It was love at first sight. Only problem? She was morbidly obese and drenched in sweat when it wasn’t warm.”
The employee said, “I know you can’t judge fitness by looks, but I’ve never met someone her size fit enough to run over two hours a day with a hyperactive dog or chase him when he jumps the fence.”
The woman inquired about adopting Rocky and there were so many positives – but the employee “couldn’t shake the uneasiness.”
That’s when the worker asked the woman about her fitness level, to which the aspiring adopter responded that she had an “active lifestyle.”
But it wasn’t enough.
“I saw him going home with her, getting little to no exercise, trashing a couch or two, and then being taken back here or worse, to a kill shelter,” the employee explained.
“I told her she couldn’t have him, and suggested she look at smaller animals like cats,” they said.
Naturally, the woman got angry and while the employee didn’t mention her weight, “she knew that was the reason I turned her away.”
The worker wrote that they “briefly doubted” their decision but “as I saw her struggle to walk to her car, I knew I was right. My boss said he would do the same thing.”
The rejected woman took to social media and accused the shelter of being “fatphobic” and now the owner is being harassed.
Redditors had no sympathy and blasted the employee for judging the woman by her size.
“And who is ‘fit’ enough to chase a dog for two hours a day, unless they are unemployed and a long-distance runner?,” wrote one person. “I know people in wheelchairs who have dogs. Should they not be allowed to have one?”
Another put it simply: “It’s possible to be a devoted, responsible pet owner without being skinny.”
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