In 2015, a man in Virginia posted an ad on the Roanoke Craigslist page for pet-related topics. The site is known for hosting free ads for pets in need of rehoming. “FREE TO ANY WILLING HOME,” reads the ad’s title description.
The post describes an ultimatum a girlfriend gave to her partner: rehome your dog or lose me. However, this rehoming ad takes a pretty unusual turn in the end.
Anyone Willing To Take Her?
Unfortunately, one must always approach Craigslist animal ads with caution, as stolen dogs and puppy mill victims are often sold there. The ad this man posted opens with a photo of Molly the Beagle, looking up at the camera with sad eyes. Then, the copy explains:
“MY girlfriend does not like my beagle Molly. SO I have to rehome her. She is a purebred from a wealthy area and I have had her 4 years.”
What follows is, seemingly, a description of the available animal:
“She likes to play games. Not totally trained. Has long hair so she’s a little high maintenance, especially the nails, but she loves having them done. Stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Only eats the best, most expensive food. Will NEVER greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you’re down. Does not bite but she can be mean as hell!”
Anyone who continued reading after a few clearly negative traits was then in for this twist ending:
“So… anyone interested in my 30 year old, selfish, wicked, gold-digging girlfriend? Come and get her! Me and my dog want her re-homed ASAP!”
And that’s why you never ask someone to choose between you and their dog.
A Pretty Believable Practical Joke
After this tongue-in-cheek “rehoming ad” went viral, the original poster felt he had to come forward to admit: “[T]he boyfriend, girlfriend, the dog are all fictional characters. Nobody exists. It was a joke just the same as any other joke.”
The Craigslist joke’s author, a man named Willy Byers, later explained it was really about a hypothetical situation: having to give up a dog because a romantic partner said so.
“I just made the thing thinking this is how it should be,” Byers said. “Rehome the girlfriend or the boyfriend, you know, do it the other way around.”
While it is a bit disappointing to learn this theoretical choice didn’t really happen, it’s definitely still a sentiment a lot of us can relate to. Byers evidently can’t imagine giving his dog away in any scenario. Me neither.
H/T: Faithfully Country
Featured Image: Craigslist.org
Toledo, United States.
