Let's start this post by admitting that if a large dog barks in a toddler's face, then with a considerable degree of probability this toddler will get a new phobia. Just believe me, I know what I'm talking about - I'm such an ex-toddler myself, and it took me years to get over this phobia.
But when a large dog is performing a service for a person with serious health problems, and the presence of this dog nearby is critical for their health, then this is a completely different matter. And therefore, personally, I perfectly understand and sympathize with the user u/ThrowRAtherapydog, the author of the story that we'll tell you today. As for you - well, please read and judge for yourselves.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post has a service dog for pancreatic attacks due to hypoglycemia
Image credits: Alexander Zvir (not the actual photo)
The dog, a well-trained Doberman called Angel, helps the woman to avoid passing out and alerts her when she needs to eat sugar
Image credits: ThrowRAtherapydog
Image credits: Ilo Frey (not the actual photo)
The author's cousin, however, decided to have a sugar-free wedding and also said not to bring Angel to the reception as her toddler was afraid of big dogs
Image credits: ThrowRAtherapydog
Image credits: Arzella BEKTAŞ (not the actual photo)
The author asked the bride-to-be to make a food exception in the menu for her, but the cousin neglected the plea. So the woman brought Angel anyway
Image credits: ThrowRAtherapydog
When the bride's kid saw Angel, he threw a tantrum and both the author and the dog were kicked out of the venue
So, the Original Poster (OP) is a 20-year-old girl who has a service dog for pancreatic attacks from hypoglycemia. The situation for our heroine is also complicated by the fact that she has ADHD, so her dog, a Doberman named Angel, helps her not to miss the moments when she needs to eat some sugar. According to the author, Angel is a well-trained dog and very playful, and during the entire time he has been living with her, he has never had problems with other people.
But then the wedding of the OP’s cousin, 'Chloe,' was approaching, and our heroine, in addition to being invited, had an important role to play - she made a slideshow for the bride as a gift and selected all the music. And everything would have been fine if not for two nuances.
First - Chloe is 'a health nut,' according to the OP's words, and she had planned a completely sugar-free menu for her wedding. Second, the youngest son of Chloe and her fiance has been afraid of big dogs ever since some other dog barked in his face. Accordingly, the OP had to, firstly, stock up on sweets with her, and secondly, try not to forget to eat them without Angel's help.
The OP asked her cousin if she could order some sweets for her, and the bride-to-be replied something like: “Fine, but you can live without junk for one night!” And when all the guests received a copy of the menu in the morning before the reception, our heroine didn't find anything in it that contained sugar in any way. Okay, no problem - the girl harnessed up Angel for the night and stocked up on gummy candies. What else could she do?
At first, the author and Angel sat in a secluded corner (the venue allowed the presence of service dogs), and then they moved closer to the music stand to launch a slide show from her laptop. And at that moment the bride’s youngest son saw Angel...
No, the Doberman behaved very nicely, and with not a single movement did he give any reason to accuse him of anything. But the toddler was still scared - and it ended with the OP and the dog literally being kicked out of the wedding right before the slideshow even started.
Moreover, soon the angry bride called the OP, directly accused her of ruining her wedding, and then demanded compensation for the cost of the slide show (even despite the fact that the author did it herself, for free, just as a gift). Our heroine, of course, was incredibly upset and decided to seek advice and support online.
Image credits: Frames For Your Heart (not the actual photo)
In the comments to the original post, the author notes that there have been cases before when she took candies with her to family gatherings and her cousin told her off for eating them in front of her kids - whom she's trying to teach to a healthy lifestyle. The OP also said that on the morning of the wedding day she texted the groom that she'd bring the dog with her because her cousin was getting her hair and makeup done. He didn't respond, however.
“Sorry, but when it comes to the choice between the health and even life of one person and the literal adherence to the principles (even the decent ones) of another person, the choice, it seems to me, is rather obvious,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “In any case, the bride could partially deviate from her principles in favor of her cousin - but didn't want to do this.”
“Of course, the little kid is not to blame for anything, and the dog is not to blame for anything either. The only question is that the newlyweds, apparently, considered the threat to the health of their relative to be something insignificant. And they received a ruined wedding in return. And the demand to pay for the slideshow generally looks completely insane," Irina summarizes.
People in the comments absolutely unanimously sided with the author, arguing that her cousin’s behavior, as well as the neglect of her health, was completely unacceptable. "I'm not even going to comment on your health news side of this because it's so obviously necessary for you and unjustifiable for her," one of the commenters pointed out. "Depriving a family member of their service animal that alerts for health reasons is deplorable," another one added.
Also there were some people in the comments whose relatives also have similar health problems - and their reaction was also unambiguous. "If someone spoke about [my son's] dietary requirements and general existence in the way she did to you, they'd be dead to me. This is inexcusable. Just be done with her," one professional nurse claimed in the comments. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this story?
Image credits: Jessie Hall (not the actual photo)
People in the comments, however, sided with her, claiming that her health and life are above everything, so she did the right thing here
