Woman Refuses to Attend Sister's Wedding Because She Won't Let Her Bring Service Dog

Mar. 15, 2025

Service dog (stock image); bride and groom (stock image).Photo:Getty

Getty

A bride’s sister is boycotting her upcoming wedding because she won’t be allowed to bring her service dog.

The bride’s sister experiences “severe anxiety” and “panic attacks,” and her service dog, a golden retriever named Max, helps ease her symptoms.

While the venue does make an exception for “legitimate service animals,” the bride said, it seems she still does not want her sister’s dog at the wedding. “Max is highly trained and well-behaved, but he’s still a dog,” the bride noted.

A golden retriever service dog (stock image).Getty

“The thing is, l’ve been waiting for this day my whole life, and I don’t want anything to go wrong,” she continued to explain. “I’m worried that even though Max is a service dog, he could still cause some sort of issue or be a distraction. Also, I don’t want to start a fight with the venue that could risk our deposit or the entire booking.”

“She then said that if Max couldn’t come, she wouldn’t be able to attend, and now she’s not speaking to me,” the bride wrote, noting that other family members have taken her sister’s side on the issue.

A bride walking down the aisle (stock image).Getty

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“A service dog isn’t a pet; it’s essential for her well-being, and excluding her like this sends a pretty cold message. Would you rather have a flawless setting or your own sister present on your wedding day?” one person wrote.

Others suggested that the bride might be “worried the dog will take attention away” from her on her wedding day. “I feel like you are just using this ‘venue’ narrative to push your actual intentions of excluding her,” one person argued.

“Are you doing this because of the venue… or because you believe a golden retriever will steal attention away from you?” another asked. “Because this reads like this is all about your ego and not the venue’s rules.”

source: people.com