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A man in Nashville, Tennessee inadvertently started a “pro-husband” movement after being sent to “the doghouse” (not proverbial, in this case) for three weeks. Jonathan Wilkes, a 45-year-old nurse at Nashville General Hospital, was literally exiled to the backyard doghouse by his wife after forgetting to unload the dishwasher.

Wilkes’ wife, a prominent insurance broker in Nashville’s “financial district” and board member of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, had strict criteria on her husband’s negligent domestic behavior and subsequent punishment. Mr. Wilkes was forced to live out of the doghouse for three weeks, while being afforded two 30-minute breaks when he was permitted to exit the doghouse to stretch his legs and get some sunlight.

News got out during Wilkes’ three-week stint in Sparky’s (the family’s 8-month-old Cocker Spaniel) doghouse, and was reported in a local newspaper. The controversial story has since ignited a movement consisting of thousands of husbands across the country who claim to have spent their own time living in doghouses.

Many of these self-prescribed “victims” are taking to Twitter to tell their own, what they are calling, “doghouse exile” stories. “After accidentally spilling milk on the kitchen floor,” explained 38-year-old Blake Warson, “I spent 12 grueling evenings in the doghouse. #FreeWilkes #NoMoreDoghouse”

“It’s a sad thing what happened to Wilkes,” echoed Samuel Adams, a high school janitor and avid wine connoisseur. “But maybe this will be a wakeup call to America’s wives. No longer will we spend days living in back-breaking conditions and breathing in smelly dog poop. #BanDoghouses #GiveSparkyHisHomeBack”