A woman has been defended online after she walked out of her sister’s wedding because her service dog was denied entry.
In a post shared to Reddit’s popular confession forum, “Am I The A**hole,” the 27-year-old woman explained that she has a service dog due to her “severe anxiety” and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stemming from an event that took place a few years ago. She shared that her 30-year-old sister, who is getting married, was well aware of “the importance of my service dog in helping me function in social situations.”
When the Redditor sent an RSVP to her sister’s wedding, she made it clear she would be bringing her service animal, who she described as “trained and well-behaved.” Though she gave her ample notice ahead of the big day, the bride wasn’t pleased with the plus-one.
“A few days before the wedding, she called me, visibly stressed, and said that while she understands my need for the dog, she felt it would be disruptive and might make some guests uncomfortable,” the Reddit user confessed. She claimed that her sister had asked if she could leave her service dog at home and attend both the ceremony and reception solo. For the Reddit user, this was a strict request seeing that she relied on her dog for support in more ways than one.
Even when she tried explaining to her sister why she needed the service animal, especially at a wedding, the bride insisted the dog would “ruin” the affair. “She insisted it would ruin her ‘perfect day’ if guests were distracted or if photos were ‘ruined’ by the dog being in them,” the Reddit user wrote.
The bride’s second offer was to provide her sister with a supportive, human sidekick to have by her side the entire time. “I politely declined, reiterating that my service dog was essential for my well-being,” she confessed.
Despite having to leave her dog behind, the woman decided to attend the ceremony last weekend. While the nuptials went somewhat smoothly, the reception proved to be too overwhelming without her service dog. Rather than sticking around and sitting with her anxiety alone, the Reddit user left.
“I started feeling overwhelmed and decided to leave early, explaining my situation to my sister,” she shared. “She was visibly upset and later sent me a long text, accusing me of making her wedding about myself and not compromising for her big day.”
Since the wedding, the woman’s family has expressed different opinions. While some agreed with her sister and accused the Reddit user of being selfish, others were admittedly in support of her decision to leave early.
Wondering whether she was in the wrong for making the hasty decision to ditch her sister’s nuptials, the Reddit user asked anonymous users if they thought she was the “bad guy,” and the overwhelming majority sided with her.
One person simply said: “You have a service dog. She discriminated based on your medical condition and need for a service dog.”
“You attended the reception and toughed it out for hours. That should be plenty,” another supporter pointed out.
“For everyone saying you should have ‘toughed it out,’ YOU DID!” a third user agreed. “You stayed for as long as you could without your service dog!! That was also already a huge compromise from you.”
Another reader wrote: “Completely out of line of your sister to think that your PTSD would be disruptive or uncomfortable for anyone…. It’s so frustrating when service dogs are taken for support dogs.”
“Your sister chose to not accommodate you, you left early. Choices have consequences… she just wants her wedding cake and wants to eat it too,” someone else noted.
