Woman snubs sister-in-law's wedding because her dog isn't invited
Pets play such a central role in our lives, and households that are lucky enough to have one absolutely think of them as part of the family.
But it is definitely important to realise that other people are not likely to think so highly of our four-legged friends as we do, and manage your own expectations of how much effort other people will be willing to put into their wellbeing.
For one family a dog caused an almighty bust up, but it was not because of any of the usual reasons you might expect, like someone getting badly bitten by it. Instead the argument was caused by the dog not being treated in exactly the same was the human children were, and being left off the guest list for a family wedding.
In a post on Reddit a woman explained her dilemma had begun over a badly behaved dog that her brother and sister-in-law had adopted because they were sadly unable to have children of their own. At around the same time that her in-laws had had it medically confirmed that they would not be able to have kids, she had fallen pregnant.
Mindful that this news would be likely to bring up mixed feelings for her in-laws, she and her husband decided to wait as long as possible to share their happy news, but shared their announcement once she "was starting to show and we had no choice". Shortly afterwards, her in-laws adopted Bella and "immediately she was all they talked about and they refused to go anywhere without her. We used to be close, but this has ruined our relationships with them," the woman explained.
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Her brother-in-law "is so obsessed with Bella that he is hard to talk to" she added, and her sister-in-law "quit her job so she doesn't have to spend any time away from the dog". The couple treat Bella like she is their own child, the woman noted, but it had become a point of contention in the wider family, with even them even stopping "our weekly family dinners because Bella barks non-stop" and overall is "a nightmare" the woman claimed.
On top of all of this, the woman's husband is actually allergic to dogs so "can't be around her for longer than an hour anyway." Overall, the woman claimed that her in-laws expected Bella to be treated like her daughter is and they "get upset" when they aren't. "Even when I gave birth and people were reaching out to check on me and my daughter, they sulked and made a post on Facebook saying they were hurt no one had done the same for them when they adopted their dog."
The woman felt like she had "been biting her tongue about it for over a year" but things became even more tense when her daughter was invited to a family wedding, but her in-laws were told "explicitly not to bring Bella." Later, she overheard her brother-in-law complaining about this, saying that if they were allowed to bring their daughter, he should be allowed to bring Bella, which caused the woman to snap and reply: "Because Bella is a dog and my daughter is an actual human baby. My child and your pet are not the same."
Afterwards, her brother-in-law reached out to her husband to let him know that they were "really hurt" over this comment and that the woman's sister-in-law had even cried over it. Her husband advised her to "take it back" and apologise. While the woman acknowledged that "their dog is like their child" and that she didn't mean to be "cruel or insensitive" she admitted she was sick of them comparing her daughter to a "poorly behaved animal."
Commenters were quick to express support for the woman, even though they felt empathy for her in-laws. "Oh this is a sad case, but as much as we love our four legged friends, they are not equivalent of babies," wrote one. "You can leave your dog with a sitter, newborn babies need to breastfeed like every few hours. It's far more difficult to find adequate care to a new infant as opposed to a puppy. I do sympathize with them, they're clearly taken this dog on emotionally as a baby due to their inability to have one. So you have to be firm but gentle with this situation."
Another wrote: "You held your tongue with understanding that their infertility is a heartache for them, but they ramped it up by saying that your child shouldn't be invited to a wedding because their dog couldn't go, essentially saying your child doesn't deserve to be treated like a full human because their dog isn't treated like a full human. Their grief doesn't entitle them to treat your child like she's not fully human."
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