Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: I wasn’t quite sure how to phrase the title but I’ll give a little background information. 

Back in November 2011 my family (me, mom, grandma, aunt, and cousin 1) got a 5 month old Silky Terrier names Barley from my other cousin 2. My cousin 2’s boyfriend had gotten her the dog but her mom didn’t want a dog at their place so they asked us if we could keep it and we said yes.

I had never had a dog before so I instantly fell in love with this little. This dog would pee on top of the staircase when anyone got home because he got so excited. He’d run around and make you chase him with his toys. He’d play hide and seek with me and then would lick me when I was on the ground. He was a good boi and I have a lot of good memories with him. He’s a gentleman now.

Then in Dec 2014 we moved to a different house. My cousin 1 that lived with me moved out because she got married, but then a year later moved back in. Then out of the blue, without asking anyone she just brings home a dog, a Terrier-Poodle mix named Sammy, around 4 months old at the time. We couldn’t say no, nor would we because she’s our family.

From what I was told, Sammy had been “returned” by her previous owner so when my cousin got her this dog was all about getting attention because she had been traumatized since she was abandoned. So much  that whenever my cousin 1 would try to leave for work, Sammy stands in her way so she won’t go.

Anyhow, Barley had never really interacted with another dog and so when Sammy came about, she absolutely just bullied him. She was a puppy so she nip at him and just bark and harass him. We tried to get her to stop when we saw her, but obviously we’re not always with the dogs. Every toy Barley had or got from now on was *hers.* If he got a toy, the moment he’d drop it she would take it and wouldn’t let him have it. Any time that Barley got attention, she’d shove herself between Barley and who was petting him and make you pet her. She would just tire him out and he couldn’t do anything. Whenever I saw it I would tell her to stop and force her away so he could have space since she always got in his face. We figured that by 2017 he was just starting to get old so his energy levels were evening out and he just didn’t want to play anymore. I will accept full judgement for this lapse in judgement.

I’m sure you’re probably thinking “Oh jackthejot is just a bad owner” but the thing was that Barley was OUR dog and Sammy was my cousin’s dog. I was the one who had trained Barley, my cousin basically trained Sammy for a few weeks and just let it be. It’s basically now that Sammy pees everywhere, poops everywhere, eats Barley’s food, etc.  We’ve spoken with my cousin 1 but it feels like she doesn’t care about her anymore. Sammy will go months without a haircut, she’s pretty fat now, and unfortunately has just become another inconvenience that we live with. I personally feel like I can’t say anything because I don’t pay rent (because I was going to college and I paid out of pocket then got cancer after I graduated so those bills were my concern) and my cousin 1 does, which she has brought up before.

Anyhow, back to the present.

Yesterday I noticed that Barley was alone in the living room. I sat on the ground and I called him over, and he came wagging his tail looking pretty happy. I started to let him and scratch him and he just looked pretty happy so I grabbed a toy and we played “Keep Away”, the first time in years. He was growling at me, tail and butt in the air, ready to jump and run around if I got close to him. After we played I laid on the ground and he came to lick my face and my hair, just like the good times. I even called my wife over so she could see this since it didn’t really happen anymore. We played a little more where he chased me and it was like I was a teenager and he was a puppy again. Then, we accidentally squeaked the toy and suddenly Sammy came running out of the basement to grab the toy. Toy in mouth, she barked at Barley and he just sat there. I used my arm to force her away so he could have space, and tried to pet him but again she got in between. Barley walked away, jumped on the couch to his spot and just laid down, looking as sad as ever.

Then it really hit me, I had my suspicions, that Barley can’t enjoy himself with Sammy there. She is a total attention hog and just bullies him and my family just plays it off as “dogs will be dogs” and I resent her for it.

But I feel terrible that I do. She’s just a dog, but I just want to love and play with Barley. Today I sat next to him and just started to scratch him and he was loving it. Sammy then came over and looked at me. I ignored her. Then she laid on my leg, inched closer, rubbed her head against my arm, I continued ignoring, then she jumped on my arm and I felt so bad I had to pet her too. I mean, she’s just a dog after all.

Would I be the asshole if I purposely shunned Sammy to make sure that Barley got the attention that he deserves and obviously still wants?

shunning one of the dogs that I lived with in order to keep another dog happy