yeah i'm really not a dog person but i think they're a bit off here. like, there's clearly other resentment here but, like... telling someone to put their kid on a leash is super rude, but i mean, so is telling someone they should kill their dog. also i don't think the dog is an asshole; it's an abused animal that doesn't want strangers near it? the dog growls and barks and hides away to get out of situations where it's scared (& even here, didn't bite the kid). animals aren't assholes just because they aren't perfect playthings. and i say this as someone terrified of dogs.

which, also, idk, it is good for kids to learn that not all animals are friendly & that they should respect the autonomy of creatures smaller than themselves? i mean, ideally not through rushing up to a clearly terrified dog and getting swiped at.

anyway, lw and gf are in the right in terms of the things they actually are doing. but then the stuff they say is super jerky and mean. especially w/ like... your actually family that you want to maintain a relationship with. like, yeah, people aren't going to want to hang out with you if you call them idiots and bad parents, no matter what the situation was.