Woman Who Won't Attend Family Thanksgiving at Her Parents' Home If Her Dog Isn't with Her in the House Sparks Debate

A woman has become the subject of a heated discussion online after she revealed she wouldn’t attend family thanksgiving at her parents’ home because they won’t let her dog into the house.

For most people, their pets are just like family, so they would go the extra mile when it comes to making them feel accepted.

This was the case for a 32-year-old woman who wondered if she was prioritizing her dog over a family thanksgiving dinner.

In a Reddit post she shared, the woman explained that she has had her dog, Oscar, for the past ten years. She rescued him from a dogfighting ring, and since then, they have had an inseparable bond.

Even when she got married last month, Oscar remained a huge part of her life, and luckily her partner was accepting of the pet.

Unfortunately, shortly after their honeymoon, they discovered that Oscar has lymphoma and, as a result, had to activate their pet insurance to cover his chemo treatments.

Amid Oscar’s health crisis, the woman’s parents were hosting a family thanksgiving dinner. However, they have a strict “no dog” policy.

Explaining how she felt about their policy, she wrote:

“I have always respected their house rules (although I think they are absurd and my dog is extremely well behaved) and have had a sitter watch Oscar when I visit them.“

She also noted that her parents used to have a dog before who lived in the house and underwent chemotherapy also.

Before the family dinner, her parents told her that she could bring Oscar along as they knew about his fragile health and were aware that she would not be comfortable with a sitter.

The original poster was thrilled by this news and went ahead to pay for a grooming appointment that includes nail clipping (for their hardwood floors) and a de-shedding treatment along with conditioning treatment.

She did all of this because her mom and stepfather are neat freaks, and she doesn’t want anything that can upset them. Unfortunately, two days before the dinner, she was told by her parents that Oscar could only stay in the basement and not in the house.

Devastated by the news, the OP decided that she won’t be a part of the family thanksgiving as she couldn’t leave Oscar alone.

Now, she is wondering if she made the right call by opting out of the family dinner. Some internet users supported her and blamed the parents for not informing her about the basement decision earlier on.

A comment read:

“NTA. If they were going to have this rule, they should have made it clear when they extended the invite to bring your dog. I wouldn’t go either. I hope Oscar makes a full recovery!”

Another user agreed with the sentiment, saying that the impromptu news places an “unreasonable demand” on the OP.

However, not everyone agreed with this as a Redditor pointed out that the OP felt she was doing her parents a favor by adhering to their “no dog” policy as it isn’t right to impose a sick pet on someone when visiting.

Another Redditor was faced with a thanksgiving dinner plight after his parents called him rude and disrespectful for missing out on being at home.

In his post, he explained that his family members loved to smoke in the house, which often affected his health. However, whenever he told them to go out on the deck to smoke, they refused to yield.

As a result, he decided never to attend any family dinner, and his loved ones don’t feel happy about that.