A woman has been slammed online for telling her cousin that she “ruined her wedding” because she brought her service dog.
In a post on Reddit‘s r/AmITheA****** subreddit, user u/ThrowRAtherapydog explained how she had been asked to leave the reception because she was there with her service dog.
“I have a service dog for pancreatic attacks, his name is Angel and he’s a Dobermann,” she wrote. The 20-year-old suffers from hypoglycemia and her dog tells her when she may be close to having an attack.
“I love him so much and he helps me avoid passing out and alerts when I need to eat sugar,” u/ThrowRAtherapydog added. “He’s playful and has never bitten anyone, though he looks a bit imposing, he has been properly trained and is a real service animal.”
“People who aren’t used to dogs or have had a previous bad experience might be anxious around dogs and be frightened of them misbehaving, but this is why all service dogs need to be highly trained,” Jan Kiley, chief operating officer for Dogs for Autism and who has worked closely with service dogs, told Newsweek.
“Service dog users must ensure that the behavior of their dog is outstanding so that the public can have confidence around them. Through educating the public in the role of these dogs and their high level of training, trust and understanding of their role can be improved.”
Kiley added: “Service dogs are essential to the safety and wellbeing of their partners. With a medical alert dog such as for a diabetic handler, the dog is literally a life saver. They are a ‘disability aid’ in the same way that a wheelchair or a crutch would be.”
Meanwhile, u/ThrowRAtherapydog was tasked with making a slideshow and organizing the music for the wedding, and explained to her cousin that she would either need to bring Angel, or have sugar nearby throughout the wedding.
“My cousin Chloe is a health nut,” she explained. “No sugar, no fat, no carbs kind of health nut. She knows about my health issues, but asked me not to bring my service dog because of his breed, that he’d scare her and her future husband’s kids, as her toddler is afraid of large dogs.”
She also refused to give her any extra sugar for the event, explaining that she did not want it at the wedding: “She told me ‘Fine, but you can live without junk for one night.’”
During the ceremony, everything was fine, but when the bride and groom saw the dog they were very upset.
“When Chloe and her husband, and their kids arrived, she freaked seeing Angel. He was in his vest and was laying down calm as could be,” wrote u/ThrowRAtherapydog. “Before I could begin the music for their first dance she was at my music stand screaming at me that I was selfish for bringing Angel to her wedding.”
Arguments at weddings aren’t uncommon, like the bride who had to kick out her husband’s best friend earlier this week, while others start before the wedding—including the woman who refused to go to her sister’s wedding because it was child free.
The couple kicked her and her service dog out of the wedding before the meal even started, and later sent an email to tell her that she “ruined her wedding.”
Newsweek reached out to u/ThrowRAtherapydog for comment. We were not able to verify the details of this case.
Redditors React
In thousands of comments on the viral Reddit post, people shared their reactions to the fall-out.
User abldav explained: “Depriving a family member of their service animal that alerts for health reasons is deplorable.”
Meanwhile user RandomWombat11523 agreed and explained: “You have a medical condition, you are not eating sugar because you like it. Your cousin wouldn’t ask a diabetic to go without their insulin, or a person with asthma to go without their inhaler. Your dog is a service dog, to help with your medical condition, not there for fun and games or to terrorize your cousin’s children.”
“You should have declined to go to the wedding, saying that you were unfortunately unable to attend safely given the restrictions imposed,” commented Reddit user Roadkill997.
Littlestgoldfish wrote: “Hypoglycemia is dangerous. You need to eat things that will raise your blood sugar so you don’t die. You have a very well trained service dog that alerts you before you start getting ill, so you can eat something. Your cousin said you could have neither. Nobody’s special day gets put above someone else’s health and safety.”
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