'AITA for not allowing my sister's family members (her dogs) at my family party?'
"AITA for not allowing my sister's family members (her dogs) at my family party?"
I hosted a Cinco de Mayo family party last weekend. I recently remodeled my backyard and pool, plus being Mexican, I thought it would be the perfect weekend to show off the updated digs. I invited any family that lived in the area. Its the first party i've held since before 2020.
My sister and I are opposites. She is a dog mom (god I hate writing that) to an extreme degree. My wife and I are not dog people. When she got the invite, she reached out and said her, her boyfriend, and 2 dogs (small 10 pound dogs) would be there. I was annoyed and called her to tell her no, her dogs are not allowed.
She asked if kids were going, I said yes, some were. She said well her dogs are family and they should be able to come. I told her I don't consider your dogs family. In fact I think your crazy for thinking that your dogs are my family. She argued her dogs were just as much family as the kids were.
She said her dogs wanted to see their uncles new backyard. I told her to shut up and never say that again to me. I re-affirmed that her and her boyfriend could come, but nothing else from their house. She got angry but I eventually hung up.
She didn't go to the party claiming I was rude and an asshole to her. Apparently my parents even agree with her, which effing blows my mind. Heard a rumor she is hosting an event and is seemingly excluding me from the invite list. AITA Here?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
Stranger0nReddit said:
NTA. As a dog lover, even I recognize that your sister was out of line. It's your house, you call the shots on whether someone can bring their dogs. Her trying to guilt you into it by saying the dogs wanted to see the new yard is nuts....did she think that would work on someone who doesn't like dogs?! And her saying they are your family and should be able to come....so is she taking her dogs to family funerals and sh*t?
Mystery_Glove said:
NTA. As the owner of three dogs, I would never assume their presence is welcome anywhere. My husband and I brought the most well behaved one to family/friends’ homes, but only after explicit invitation.
We absolutely adore our dogs, but our philosophy is our dogs aren’t anyone else’s problem. Some people love dogs but don’t want them in their home, and some people just straight up aren’t into them.
Dogs at parties are often complicated. If we were in the position of having to bring a dog (for example, we were traveling with them and couldn’t coordinate care), we’d either divide and conquer by sending one of us, or decline the invitation with our apologies.
PilotNo312 said:
NTA, the kids aren’t potentially sh$tting on your patio (hopefully) I’m really sick of dog owners forcing their pets on everyone else.
Skull_Bearer_ said:
NTA, dogs aren't kids, and it's your party. She can host if she wants dogs around.
Embarrassed-Land-222 said:
NTA. I have to deal with this every time I have a holiday at my house. I do not understand why dog people think they need to bring their dog everywhere. Until recently, I had an elderly cat, so now that she's passed, they're pushing it HARD. Your house. Your rules.
WaywardMarauder said:
Look…I consider myself a “cat mom” and my stepkitty and my kitty are my babies. But I do not assume that they are invited places with me nor do I compare them to human children in that “if kids are coming, I should be able to bring my cats." NTA.
Everyone was on OP's side for this one. What's your advice for this "dog mom" family drama?