During a recent bus journey, mum-of-four claims she was asked by a driver to take her two-year-old child out of her pushchair and fold it away to make room for a pram - and she was more than happy to oblige.
However, her opinions on the matter changed somewhat after she took a peek in the pram.
Vicky Shirley, 36, says she was left startled after realising there was a West Highland white terrier nestled in the pram, not a baby as she'd naturally assumed. The mum, who'd boarded the Stagecoach service in Ramsgate, Kent, with her kids on Thursday afternoon, rang up her partner Luke Till, in disbelief after the baffling incident, and he was left just as shocked as she was.
Luke, 28, has recounted the incident on her behalf, saying: "Vicky got on the bus with our four children who are two, four, five, and seven. As she boarded the bus outside the school she was asked to take our two-year-old out of the pushchair and fold it down.
"She believed it was acceptable as she just saw a pram at first so assumed it had a child in it. When she sat down she noticed it had a dog in it and she called me as she was shocked."
He continued: "The bus driver would have seen it was a dog in the pram. My partner could only see the back of the pram until she walked past the people and the pushchair.
"I do think the driver should have given priority to my daughter. The safety of a two-year-old should come before the safety of a dog that could have been sat on the owner's lap.
"I think the reason the dog is in a pram is down to lazy owners. Our younger children thought it was funny that a dog was in a pushchair."
The bewildered dad has since shared about the incident via Facebook, where more than 200 people have offered their thoughts on the matter.
One person chuckled: "That's pretty funny, hope you said no and asked why the dog is in a pram when it’s got four legs."
Another wrote: "If you’re on the bus first then the other party should fold theirs.”
A third person expressed frustration about dogs in prams becoming a trend, tutting: "This is my number one pet peeve at the moment. I don't get the logic of the bus driver."
A Stagecoach spokesperson said: "We're concerned to hear about this and we're very sorry if a customer with a child was asked to fold their pushchair to help accommodate what turned out to be a dog in a pram. Our team is investigating the incident."
Do you have a baffling story to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
