Man Refuses To Let His Friend's Service Dog Over To His House Because He's 'Not A Dog Person'
A service dog is not exactly a pet.
Africa Studio / Shutterstock One common misconception people often have about service dogs is that they are not pets.
They are loyal, life-saving animals that humans with complex medical conditions heavily depend on in order to complete everyday tasks.
One man demonstrated his ignorance regarding service animals after he forbid his friend’s service dog from coming over to his house so he wouldn’t have to deal with the dog’s shedding.
The man claimed that he is ‘not a dog person’ and told his friend that he could not come to his house with his service dog.
Sharing his story to the subreddit thread, r/AmITheA–hole, the 39-year-old asked other users if he was being unreasonable for banning the dog from his home.
He began his post by revealing that his 39-year-old friend has diabetes, and has a service dog with him at all times that can alert him if he is experiencing any dangerous health complications.
He added that he often hosts get-togethers at his house with all of his friends.
However, his friend’s service dog is posing an issue for him.
“I'm not much of a dog person and really don't want it at my house,” he wrote. “It is a breed that sheds and I don't want to have to deal with dog hair in my house. Also, my kids regularly play in our yard and I don't want them to encounter dog poop and pee.”
RELATED: Parents Defend Child Who Yanked Service Dog's Tail By Saying 'He's Little'
The man has many amenities in his home that his other friends don’t have.
“I have a pool, I built a bar in my basement, those types of upgrades,” he shared. “I have amenities that others don't and there are no expensive food and bar tabs at my place.”
Due to this, his house has become the preferred hangout spot for him and his friends to gather. Recently, he told his friend that his service dog was not welcome at the house.
"I offered to pay for a monitoring device he can use while at my house, but he didn't take that offer well," he wrote.
The man’s friend told him that he was “not happy” about his request and wound up skipping the Super Bowl party he had thrown at his house.
Some Redditors slammed the man for not allowing the dog in his home.
“You need to stop equating your friend's service dog to pets. This is a medical assistance device,” one user pointed out. “Would you tell someone they couldn't bring their wheelchair because you didn't want the wheels tracking dirt on your floor?”
“Your friend deserves better friends,” another user commented.
“If your friend isn’t worth running the vacuum cleaner for five minutes after a visit then you should just go ahead and tell him you’re not really his friend at all,” another user wrote.
However, others believed that the man was within his rights to not allow the dog in his home.
“It is his house and he is not legally obligated to have the dog in the house,” one user commented.
“Your house is your private property, service dogs of visitors have no rights there and are only welcomed with your direct permission,” another user wrote. “There are laws protecting service dogs with access rights, but they do not apply to certain situations, and this is one of them.”
“It's entirely up to OP [original poster] if they want to have a dog in their house - whether a service dog or someone's pet.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.