Woman Causes Uproar After Forcing Friend’s Service Dog to Stay Outside
In life, it doesn't often take long to develop an understanding that the people we meet will have different values and lifestyles. And when those values clash, it's typically fairly easy to understand where each side of a debate is coming from.
But sometimes, one person will feel justified in their position yet receive a great deal of backlash from the people in their lives that throws that confidence into doubt. So for those people, it can be useful to seek some outside perspectives to find out who was really in the right. And from the sounds of it, one woman is now glad she did exactly that.
An epileptic woman with a service dog felt conflicted
In a post asking for advice on Reddit, a 24-year-old woman established that she has epilepsy.
And her case is severe enough that she has a service dog to help her deal with her seizures.
Her dog helps detect seizures
As the woman explained, service dogs trained for epilepsy are able to detect seizures before the person they're helping is aware of them.
The dog then alerts this person so they have time to get to a safe place and sit or lie down to better experience them.
Dedicated to their work
The woman also said that if she ignores this alert, her dog will tug her sleeve and try to pull her to the ground itself.
And once that seizure does happen, the dog stays with her and doesn't let her get up until it's safe to do so. Ultimately, the service dog's job is to minimize the chances of her getting hurt during a seizure.
A lifelong partnership
Since the woman was diagnosed as a child, she's been most of her life accompanied by a service dog.
At this point in her life, one of those dogs has already had to retire once it became too old.
Life with Bailey
Naturally, this means the woman had to get another dog, and she's been working with one named Bailey for the last four years.
In her words, "She is the bestest girl around."
That one friend
The woman often meets up with her core friend group and given the nature of her medical issue, Bailey is always with her.
However, one of those friends (who she code-named Anna) has a history of making passive-aggressive comments about Bailey for reasons the woman can't put her finger on.
Anna drops some strange hints
Apparently, Anna was in the habit of telling the woman that dogs shouldn't come to restaurants and that she was inconveniencing people by bringing Bailey everywhere.
As the woman put it, "She doesn't get that I legitimately need her for my own safety. It’s not just for show."
Different kinds of seizures
The woman explained that seizures are an everyday occurrence for her. Sometimes, they're relatively small "petit mal" seizures that she described as looking like she's simply zoning out.
As she wrote, "Quite often, people who don't know me wouldn’t even connect this."
A much bigger deal
Contrasting with these are her "big" seizures that cause her to lose consciousness entirely.
Unfortunately, it's also not unusual for these to happen a couple of times a day, so it's imperative for her that these episodes pass as smoothly as possible.
A game night without any fun
One night, Anna hosted a game night among these friends, but it didn't take long for the festivities to devolve into an argument.
According to the woman, Anna blew up at her and told her that it was "incredibly disrespectful" to show up with Bailey without asking for permission first.
The rant continued
Anna went on to say that the woman couldn't just assume people will always be happy with having a dog around.
She also went as far as to say that she should've just stayed home if she couldn't handle going for a few hours without Bailey.
An attempt to keep the peace
The woman tried to apologize but also expressed how confused this made her since she couldn't imagine why she would've expected someone who needed a service dog not to bring it with her.
For some reason, this only made Anna angrier.
A dangerous compromise
Although she didn't feel comfortable taking the risk of leaving her dog outside, the woman felt pressured by Anna, and agreed to leave Bailey outside while they had their game night inside.
As she let the dog outside, she had a sinking feeling that something could go wrong.
People pleasing
Although this makes her feel stupid now, the woman said she agreed because she didn't want to see any more conflict in the group.
In her words, "I didn't want to inconvenience anyone more or continue stirring the pot."
Exactly what she was afraid of
Unfortunately, circumstances would soon demonstrate clearly why the woman needs Bailey as she had a seizure serious enough to make her black out.
This led her to slam her head on the floor hard enough that she had to be hospitalized.
No shame whatsoever
While most people would expect Anna to feel mortified and regretful after causing such a serious incident, she apparently refused to admit she had done anything wrong.
What the woman heard from her friends was that Anna accused her of passing out for attention and bitterly said she had gotten her way.
An explosion of outrage
If they weren't inclined to do so already, this callous attitude ensured that the woman's friends unloaded on Anna in a fury.
They described her as hateful, toxic, and a jealous witch. In the aftermath, the friend group has dropped contact with Anna completely.
It doesn't end there
In the time since the incident, Anna, her sister, and her mother have all repeatedly contacted her.
In these messages, they've berated her and demanded she "fix this situation." Presumably, this means somehow convincing her friends to forget what they witnessed and let Anna back into the friend group without so much as an apology.
Seeking perspective
Although the woman couldn't see how she could possibly be in the wrong, these messages started to get to her enough that she decided to see how those on Reddit saw her situation.
And the overwhelming majority of commenters were horrified by Anna and her family's actions. As one user said, "She literally caused you to SUFFER A MEDICAL INCIDENT. She had so little regard for your health and wellbeing that she caused you actual harm."
Don't suffer in silence
Some commenters also advised telling the friends who stuck up for her what Anna's family has been sending her.
As one of them put it, "Your friends deserve to know that they did the right thing. Seeing her sick (sic) her family on you will reassure them they were right about her."
Bailey should not have been a surprise
A few commenters bought Anna's argument that the woman shouldn't have assumed that she would be OK with a dog that has not visited her home before, but the woman revealed that it made no sense for Anna to say this.
The woman said she does her best to accommodate new people but that Anna had known her for over a decade. She also knew the specifics of Bailey's job and had even seen her care for the woman during seizures.
A bizarre revelation
Baffled at this information, some commenters wracked their brains for a reasonable explanation to Anna's extreme reaction to Bailey's presence. One asked if she had a traumatic experience with a dog or an allergy.
And what they learned was not only that Anna has a dog of her own, but that this dog gets along very well with Bailey.
A hint at Anna's true motivation
In response to a comment, the woman talked about how supportive her best friend since the third grade has been through her journey. He was with her around the time she was first diagnosed to ensure she was OK and he's always among the first to respond when she has a seizure in public.
As she worded it, "He's truly a saint of a human and idk what I’d do without him."
Anna sees a threat
This best friend was also quick to deride Anna's previous comments about Bailey and has generally been very protective of the woman.
This has led her to say things like, "You don't have to defend her all the time, you don’t have to be with her and watching her. You can have a life too."
The incident confirmed her suspicions
Although the man was also quick to shut this kind of talk down, it's also given the woman a sense of where some of Anna's problem with her originate.
At this point, she suspects that Anna has feelings for him and sees her as competition, despite the fact that they're all supposed to be just friends.
Too perceptive for her own good
However, what the woman's friends don't know is that this best friend has confessed his feelings for her.
So the woman is also now wondering if Anna sensed these feelings as well and is grasping at any excuse she can find to tear the woman down.
Commenters become invested in her love life
When the woman heard his confession, she told her best friend that she isn't currently in the right head space to date someone and he said he's willing to wait.
This led some users to ask if she reciprocated his feelings and advised being honest if she didn't.
She meant exactly what she said
To this, the woman replied that she shares his romantic feelings, but is facing the possibility of having to undergo surgery.
With that in mind, she's decided that she wants to get her medical decisions in order before she commits to any relationship.
Such a wholesome part of the story
The woman said she told the man she didn't want to string him along or waste his time, but he told her she's worth waiting for. And while some praised the intelligence in this decision, others encouraged her to go for him once everything's settled.
In response, she wrote, "Thank you! I really want to, I'm just letting my insecurities get the best of me. I know we need to have another talk."
The final word on the matter
With everything cleared, the only further recommendation most commenters had was to block Anna's family and enjoy the company of her real friends.
And in an update, she thanked everyone for their input and well-wishes. She also confirmed that she had done as advised and would have no further contact with Anna's family.
