I’m Akane, a freelance worker in my 40s living with my husband Ryuji. Our son Naoto is in high school and lives in a dorm out of town. My sister-in-law Nanami lives nearby, and since her husband is away on assignment, she got a dog out of loneliness. But now she dumps the dog on me during her work hours. Even when I told her I couldn’t watch it because of my job, she wouldn’t listen—she even left the dog at my front door.
I tried to ignore it, but my mother-in-law called right away and pressured me to take the dog. Frustrated by how pushy both she and my sister-in-law were, I asked my husband to firmly tell them I couldn’t do it. He was hesitant at first, but once he saw my health was being affected, he realized how serious it was.