Featured on @StorylineReddit: November 27, 2025
The dog was visible at the door. They said they didn’t know her.
That image sticks.
What starts as a missing-pet panic tilts, almost quietly, into something stranger: a backyard gate left open, flyers taped to poles, a social media post announcing a “new” pug the same night. Then the block. Then silence. A name that almost rhymes with the old one.
It would be easy to flatten this into petty drama between young adults. It isn’t only that. The disagreement about whether Banjo should sleep outside had been there already, simmering. One person calls it normal. Another calls it wrong. The dog disappears.
Inside the story sits a question no one states directly: who gets to decide what “better” looks like? The wife sees a companion. The sister-in-law sees a correction waiting to happen.
And then a door closes.
This isn’t simply a story about a stolen pet. It’s about a household arrangement that carried more tension than anyone admitted.
A sister-in-law living for fifty dollars a month. Access to the couple’s car. Shared meals. An argument about whether a pug should sleep outdoors on warm nights. Nothing explosive until the dog vanishes.
Suspicion doesn’t scatter; it narrows. A friend posts a “new” pug. Accounts are blocked almost immediately. The sister grows quieter when Banjo’s name comes up. The husband hesitates between confronting her and waiting, worried that pushing too soon might make the situation worse.
Then the escalation unfolds in behavior. A confrontation at a boyfriend’s house. The dog seen at the door. Denial. A slammed door. Police called. A voicemail left unanswered. Ten minutes later, a text offering to return the dog if law enforcement stays out of it.
Banjo comes home. Relief floods the house.
The dog’s return resolves one crisis. The living arrangement does not.
Text Version
90% positive my sister-in-law (currently living with us) stole my wife’s dog and gave him to her friend
CONCLUDED
I am not The OOP, OOP is u/Lanerinsaner
90% positive my sister-in-law (currently living with us) stole my wife’s dog and gave him to her friend.
Originally posted to r/legaladvice
MOOD SPOILER: outrageous but ends positive
Original Post Oct 20, 2017
Hello everybody. We live in Boise Idaho. Last week my wife’s pug Banjo was missing from our backyard. My wife hung up flyers everywhere and through social media the search for Banjo has been shared throughout multiple states. We have retrieved tons of calls about sightings of a wondering pug near where we live. We’ve checked and it has it haven’t been Banjo
At little background:
My wife’s sister who is living with us at the moment, has expressed her hate that our dog sleeps in a dog house outside during spring, summer and warm days in fall. She believes he should be an inside dog and has always hated that he sleeps in a dog house. My wife always has her dog inside during the day, but most night he sleeps in his dog house outside.
Anyways.. Our dog went missing last Saturday morning and the gate was open. We 100% saw him sleeping outside the night before.
Apparently my wife’s sister’s friend posted to social media with a picture of a brand new pug she got- which happened to be the night before he went missing. When my wife went to look the friend and sister in law blocked her from their social media. We had someone else try and look to see if it was him, but the post was quickly removed I guess.
My sister-in-laws friend usually comes over to our house twice a month. So she knows the dog and our house.
The friend hasn’t posted any pictures of the dog, but apparently she named the dog Nacho… which sounds decently close to Banjo and would allow him to come to their call.
My sister-in-law instantly gets quiet whenever we bring the banjo up and is seriously acting suspicious as crap. There are some other personal details regarding why we believe she would take them. The sister in law and friend are both around 19 and act very immaturely.
My wife thinks they are keeping the at the friends boyfriends house. We found out where he lives and my wife wants to go on a stakeout to see if we can see if it’s him they have before contacting the police about it. I want to confront the sister in law about it, but my wife is worried if we do she will tell her friend to move the dog somewhere else to stay out of trouble.
My question is, if they really did steal our dog what can we do about it?
Also any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My wife has been so upset this last week and I just want to find her dog. I have a feeling my sister in law did take him and give him to her friend. I just don’t want to take action without full blown proof. We have multiple pictures of banjo to compare and see if it’s him and also have proof of when we purchased the dog and also the social media post about him missing.
I just want to find him and will be upset if they really did this to us.
Thank you for reading.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
Carl321321
Did you ever take the dog to the Vet? Did he have any operation or stitches that could be used to verify?
OOP
No we have not. He is a very unique pug though. Way taller and longer legged than most pugs. Luckily we have lots of pictures of him to compare.
mollycool_
also take your animal to the vet. hate to sound like an ass but that’s terribly irresponsible of you as a dog owner to have never taken your dog to a vet. dogs need a checkup once a year.
OOP
He just turned one this month. That’s why we haven’t yet.
Edit: Not sure why I am being downvoted. We purchased him as a puppy after he was already given his shots and such. You said he needs to be given a checkup once a year.. He just turned one and my wife was already planning on taking him to get one this month.
Edit 2: You guys are completely right. As soon as we find him we will take him to the vet for a checkup, shots and chip. Appreciate the feedback.
~
CallingYouOut2
My first question is, why is this person still living in your house and have you started eviction proceedings?
OOP
If this all turns out to be true, then she will be out of the house quick.
FellKnight
Just some advice to make sure you evict her legally with written notice in accordance with Idaho laws, otherwise you are opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit.
Update Oct 22, 2017 (2 days later)
Boise, Idaho
Here is an update since my last post.
My wife got her friend to confront the friend and her boyfriend who they thought took him. They were recording the whole interaction. The friend and her boyfriend pretended they had no idea who my wife was- even though the girl has came over to our house multiple times over the years and is best friends with my wife’s sister. Our dog banjo was at the door when they answered.
After my wife’s friend confronted them and told them they were going to get the police involved, they slammed the door in her face.
My wife talked to a cop but was told they couldn’t do anything that night since the couple that took our dog lived in the next by city. My wife gave them information about it all and gave them the girls number who took the dog. The cop called her and left a voicemail after she didn’t answer.
The cop then called my wife and told her to go to their house with the cop on the line. They then acted like they didn’t have a dog, even though they just saw the dog when they first confronted them. The cop told my wife to leave the house because the girl wouldn’t even come to the door to talk to my wife.
The cops told my wife they will call her back once the girl responds to the cops voicemail. Ten minutes later, the girl who stole the dog texted my wife saying they will give her banjo back as long as they don’t involve the cops (sketchy).
They met up with them and got banjo back while being cussed out for stalking them and finding where they live. Banjo is now home and I’ve never seen my wife so happy with tears of joy.
As for my wife’s sister who is currently living with us and was a part of the whole process.. is playing dumb and acting like she didn’t know about it until a couple days ago. We will be having a sit down discussion with her once she gets home and will be giving her an eviction notice on when she needs to be moved out. I will let her know and will be recording the whole conversation as well as writing an eviction notice document.
My wife is beyond upset she would be betrayed by her sister, especially after we were only charging her $50 a month on rent with her own bathroom, letting her use our car to get to work and even feeding her, so she could save up for a vehicle for herself. As much as I hate being mean to people, I can’t allow her to live with us any longer and will be cutting off letting her use the car today.
I just really hope she learns a lesson from this, just as much as I have.
Thanks everyone for the advice and opinions. We really appreciate it.
Now onto my next updated:
I’ve read every comment you guys wrote and I completely agree with you all.
First off, I’ve never really had a dog before because I am not an animal person sadly. My wife on the other hand- is the biggest animal lover I’ve ever met. See would literally adopt every animal she has come across if she could.
I wasn’t aware pugs had such issues sleeping outside, even if he slept in a insulated doghouse. Some more background information is we didn’t let him sleep outside until two months ago. He would be inside all day until around 7 pm and sleep in his dog house. Around this time, the outside temperature was averaging 70 degrees outside.
Another piece of information I’ve learned is my wife has actually gave banjo his worming shots and that tick stuff you give a dog. We live in a subdivision with a decent sized gated backyard. So i wasn’t worried about animals attacking him.
Because of the feedback you guys have given me, I have talked to my wife and we will be making banjo an inside dog from now on. We will also be making sure he gets taken to the vet and get all of his shots and checkups.
I apologize if I upset anyone about the way we treated banjo. I didn’t put enough effort into thinking about his sleeping and veterinarian needs. I am currently in the process of potty training our 2 and 1/2 year old son and have been putting more effort than anything else making sure he is learning and using the potty.
So we will be working our hardest to give Banjo the best life he can. My wife loves him more than anything and treats him as another son. I’ve honestly never seen anyone love a dog as much as my wife loves and treats Banjo. He is super happy and excited to be home and my son gave him a big hug as soon as he got here.
Thank you again for everything you guys have helped me with. Advice, thoughts and your opinions. I will work my hardest to make sure we can be he best dog owners we can possibly be. I’m just glad he is home.
Thank you guys again!
Edit: some grammar and update on sister-in-law.
FINAL COMMENTS
When told to get Banjo chipped
We are getting Banjo microchipped this Friday.
**DOG TAX!!!
OOP has a previous post on r/aww
My wife and I bought our first dog! Reddit meet Banjo
Source
At the center is the wife’s attachment to Banjo. It isn’t casual. He folds into her routines, into her sense of family. The husband moves differently less sentimental, more procedural. He thinks in terms of proof, of eviction notices, of how to avoid tipping someone off too early. They are aligned, but their instincts don’t look the same.
The sister-in-law objects to the dog sleeping outside. She believes he should be indoors. She lives in their home at minimal cost, uses their car, eats their food. That detail sits there.
When the dog disappears, the conflict sharpens without anyone naming it.
The sequence itself is blunt. The friend answers the door. Banjo stands behind her. They say they don’t recognize the wife. The door shuts. A police officer calls and leaves a message. Silence. Then a text arrives offering the dog back, on the condition that the police disappear. A meeting follows. The dog is handed over. Words are exchanged.
Only later does interpretation start creeping in.
What lingers is the conditional return. For a brief moment, control changes hands. The dog is no longer just a pet; he is leverage. No speeches about motive, no explanation of why just positioning.
And yet the story doesn’t end in clean rupture. Banjo comes home. The wife cries. Their son hugs the dog. The husband drafts an eviction notice and cuts off car access. Dinner still has to happen. Conversations still have to be had.
Relief settles in first. Trust does not.
Some conflicts close when the missing thing is returned. Others leave the room slightly rearranged, even after everyone sits back down.