The human body has many flaws and one of the most annoying ones is allergies. While some people may not even know they have one because they are so mild, others are very aware and try to avoid the allergens at all cost because coming in contact with them can end their lives.
However, moderate allergies are not very pleasant either, so if it can be prevented, that is what people prefer. Although not everyone understands that and this woman was actually called an ableist for not allowing a train passenger with a service dog in her compartment because she is allergic to the pet.
More info: Reddit
Woman got told by her friends she was an ableist for not allowing a lady with a service dog to enter her train compartment even though she is allergic
Image credits: State Farm (not the actual image)
The Original Poster (OP) went on an overnight train trip for which she booked a whole compartment to be comfortable as she was traveling to see her friends and celebrate her 18th birthday together.
She forgot to lock the compartment, so after an hour, a young woman came inside with a dog asking if she could sit there as she needed space for her service dog. The OP is allergic to dogs and long exposure to them makes her vomit, so she asked the intruder to leave.
The 18-year-old booked a compartment to herself for an overnight train on which she was going to see her friends to celebrate her birthday
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
The random passenger had quite a dramatic reaction as she called the OP ableist because she didn’t want her in the same compartment only because she had a disability, as the 18 Y.O.’s allergy wasn’t deadly.
Luckily, one of the train workers passed by and was on the OP’s side after she explained what was happening and showed the ticket, which said she paid for the whole compartment. Later in the comments, the young woman admitted that she actually had to save up for it as it cost quite a bit.
She wanted the compartment to herself just to be comfortable and actually had to save some money to be able to afford it
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
On top of that, the OP suspects that the dog wasn’t even a service dog but more of a pet or an emotional support animal at most. From what the young woman could gather, it was the dog owner’s second warning but she probably uses her dog and ableism excuse to get what she wants regularly.
The difference between a service dog and an emotional support, therapy, comfort or companion dog is that “a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability.”
What sets comfort dogs apart is that they weren’t specifically trained to deal with a person’s disability or to predict, prevent or lessen the impact of a mental disorder, so in the US, it depends on a state if emotional dogs can be taken to public places where regular pets aren’t allowed.
After an hour a woman with a dog entered and asked if she could stay there as she needed more room for her dog
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
Image credits: U-ichiro Murakami (not the actual image)
The OP is allergic to dogs so she asked the woman to leave but was called ableist for it
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
That’s why service dogs are allowed into more places than other pets and why it is such a big deal when they are denied services and entry to specific places because “Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go.”
However, not everyone follows the Americans with Disabilities Act and a survey conducted by Autism Assistance Dog showed that 17 percent of service dog owners have been denied access to a healthcare facility, 22.5 percent were charged extra when staying at a hotel, Airbnb or motel and 12.6 percent of them have had to pay extra when renting.
Another survey by Canine Companions for Independence in partnership with ADI North America Regional Chapter Board revealed that almost half of the respondents have been denied or have been asked to leave a business where pets weren’t allowed.
Thankfully a train worker checked that the OP actually paid for the compartment and asked the dog owner to find another seat
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
People who have service dogs do face discrimination and not everyone understands what a service dog is needed for, how they are trained and what rights they have, so it’s understandable that they can get irritated when they are denied something because it most probably has to do with them having a dog.
However, as people pointed out in the comments, in the OP’s situation you could say that the lady with the dog was being ableist herself as she disregarded her allergy and the possible consequences of it. Being disabled doesn’t mean that your own disability is higher than someone else’s.
The OP's friends thought that she was rude and should have made the disabled person feel more comfortable even though her allergy makes her sick
Image credits: u/AITAthrowaway_1212
Image credits: patrick janicek (not the actual image)
And even if she didn’t have a dog allergy, the OP had the full right to deny the dog owner access to the train compartment, because she paid to be there alone. Also, trains have special seats for disabled people and if the lady doesn’t like sitting there, she could have booked a compartment herself rather than barging into one that was paid for by someone else.
The vote was quite unanimous in the comments and people didn’t see anything wrong with how the OP handled the situation. We are curious to know if you think otherwise. Also, do you think that if the OP didn’t have a dog allergy, she should have let a disabled person with their service animal in? Let us know in the comments!
People in the comments disagreed and because the OP paid for her compartment, she didn't need to accommodate anyone else
