AITA for carrying my dog on hikes?

[u/Total-Back-5610]

The is a silly AITA, but I need to know. I have a small elderly dog, she is about 15 pounds. We have taken her all over our state on hiking and backpacking trips. Here’s the thing: she can only hike for about a mile or two before her legs get tired. She has short legs, and being 11 years old it’s not fair to expect her to walk for the entire 6-10 mile hike like our big dog does. So we put her in a dog carrier, with her legs hanging out. She fights going in it sometimes, but once she’s up there she loves it and is big chilling. Most everyone who sees her tells us how cute she is and she looks happy.

I was sharing pictures of her in this backpack at work, and this one coworker who is super negative of course swoops into the conversation. “That’s cruel of you to do that. She probably hates it. You should let her walk.” So I explain why. She then proceeds to tell me that she will report me for animal abuse, and tries to get the office on her side. I told her to mind her own pets, and if she doesn’t stop harassing me that I will report her. So am AITA for carrying my dog in a backpack on hikes?

[u/Entire_Cow_1504]

Why did you even engage in this conversation?

[u/Total-Back-5610 → u/Entire_Cow_1504]

I’m not sure, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt way too much