“Jealous or Justified is a monthly segment where we ask our readers to analyze the situation of someone who has asked for our help to see if the person is being Jealous or are they Justified in feeling the way they feel.

Please keep in mind that the term “Jealous” can mean many things in the context of this segment. It doesn’t and won’t always mean jealous in its true meaning. Perhaps the person is just in their feeling a bit too much.

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Hey Beautiful Machine readers, I need your help. My name is John, and I’m in a tough situation with my girlfriend, Sarah. We’ve been together for two years, and I love her deeply. So much so that I’ve been saving money to buy her an engagement ring and a house for us to start our future together.

Sarah has a dog that she’s had for almost 20 years—yes, two decades. This dog has been with her through everything, and I understand how much she loves it. But it’s old, sick, and has had several health issues over the years. I have spent close to $10,000 on vet bills for this dog, solely because I love Sarah and wanted to support her. Now, the dog is at a point where it needs a major operation that will cost $6,000, and Sarah wants me to help pay for it.

Here’s where the problem comes in—I don’t want to. I feel like I’ve already done more than enough, and I think it’s time to accept the reality that this dog has lived a long and happy life. At some point, we all have to face the inevitable, and I don’t think spending another $6,000 on an aging, sick dog is the right decision.

Sarah, on the other hand, sees this as a dealbreaker. She believes my unwillingness to help means I don’t care enough about her. To me, that’s completely unfair. I do care. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have spent thousands of dollars in the past to help keep her dog alive. But at this point, I believe it’s more important to focus on our future, rather than pouring more money into something we can’t stop from happening.

Now, our relationship is on the rocks, and she’s talking about breaking up over this. I feel like I’m being reasonable, but maybe I’m missing something.

So, I’m turning to you—am I wrong? Is this worth breaking up over? Let me know what you think.