Coworker ate dog food for close to six months. AITAH for letting it go on so long?

A Reddit user recounted a bizarre workplace tale about their dog food being repeatedly stolen from the office fridge. For nearly six months, the mysterious thief unknowingly ate meals prepared specifically for the user’s puppy, despite clear labels marking it as dog food. When the user finally called out the theft in a meeting, the culprit never confessed, but the stealing stopped. Was letting the situation play out for so long the wrong move? Read the full story below to decide.

‘ Coworker ate dog food for close to six months. AITAH for letting it go on so long?’

This is my sister’s story. Earlier last year I bought a puppy, some kind of walking mop. Cute as heck. The seller warned me that it had very specific dietary requirements. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do on my time off was to make dog food, so I approached a woman, recommended by my local pet shop, to make two weeks worth of food.

She uses very cheap cuts, grains, and supplements specifically formulated for dogs. I pick up the individually packaged bags every second Monday morning and keep them in a plastic container labelled with my name in the community fridge, then take it home after work. It doesn’t take up much room.

Awhile ago I noticed that some of the bags began going missing, then found the empties in the waste bin. They are marked DF with the date in black sharpie. I immediately knew what was going on and thought it was funny. Luckily my mother is in love with doggo mop-face and when she dogsits, around three times a week, she feeds her, so puppers never goes hungry. So I let it go on, occasionally complaining to HR and colleagues about my “specialty food” being stolen. Other than a sternly worded email nothing was ever done.

Finally, during our six month productivity meeting I loudly complained that my bags of dog food were still going missing on the regular, because now I actually was getting pissed at the blatant theft. Two young guys gave me horrified looks. Neither of them ever fessed up to the pilfering, but since that meeting my dog food has never gone missing.

My close office colleague thought it was funny, but said I was a real AH for allowing it to go on for so long. So, AITAH? At least I know it must taste alright. And maybe I’m imagining it, but their hair does seem shinier.

Check out how the community responded:

m88johnston −  NTA. If she didn’t mind losing the amount of food she was losing, then that serves them right lol.

arnott −  NTA. Do the young guys play fetch correctly?

BigNathaniel69 −  NTA, this is hilarious. It’s pretty weird that your coworkers care more that you had dog food than your other coworkers stealing your dog food.

RogerPenroseSmiles −  NTA, good dog food is indistinguishable from bad human food. It has human grade ingredients with none of the flavor, seasonings or salt. Frankly, the rice and chicken mush I feed to my dog when he’s feeling ill would probably do ok with a sick human too.

chado5727 −  Nta. You don’t have to tell anyone what’s in your food if they aren’t going to be or supposed to be eating it in the first place. That’s what they get for being a t**ef.

Resident_Length3465 −  We had a food t**ef in our office. One day he took a spicy hot dog I had brought in for my meal (purchased from a specialty butcher), and a co-worker alerted me because it was kind of distinctive. I told them I would handle it.

At lunchtime (our lunches were staggered), I loudly wondered what had happened to the “special medicated dog food” I had picked up at the vet on my way in from work. “Gee, I complained loudly. “I hope no one ate it. My dog is sick and I don’t know if the medicine is safe for human consumption. It’s in a hot dog so my poor baby will eat it…”

The food t**ef quickly confessed to taking it – and was reprimanded for stealing other’s lunches. Afterwards, each time he ate something from the shared refrigerator, the boss was looking over his shoulder to make sure it was something \*he\* had brought in and that he wasn’t taking someone else’s lunch.

PFic88 −  NTA that’s hilarious.

Connect_Tackle299 −  Nta. It’s not like it was dog food out of a can. It was human grade food made for dogs. Plus now those guys learned a valuable lesson.

LegitimateEmu3745 −  NTA. The two unemployed lazy asses who live here (long story) keep eating my dog’s food. Told them there was dewormer in the last batch AFTER they’ve been told several times not to eat it.
I just made a new batch today. Fish oil should do the trick.

MrLazyLion −  NTA. But I’d let out a “Woof” every time I walked past them.