For being annoyed I was asked to stand on a bus because of dog allergies?

[anywayhereswonderwall]

I went to visit a friend in London today and I took my dog. It's worth noting she is a mini poodle, and hypoallergenic, and well behaved. You can barely even tell she's there. I got on the bus as part of my journey. It was the middle of the day so there were a few empty seats (but not loads).

I got on and sat down, and the woman a few rows behind me said 'can you move , I have a dog allergy'. I apologised and moved a few rows forwards, the furthest forwards I could go and still get a seat.

She then shouted forwards 'not far enough, you're going have to stand at the front'.

I was confused, but did it. I spent the rest of the 35 minute journey standing right at the front of the bus while the woman was 3/4 of the way along, sitting.

I did what she said for the journey, but when I got off I felt annoyed and I'm not sure if I'm justified.

These stories get more ridiculous.

I have life threatening allergies, I really can’t go into a shop and ask for them to tell people what they can or can’t eat just because I want to eat there, it’s my responsibility to keep myself safe!

The only time I’ve ever said anything to anyone was at a show when a person was eating nuts right next to me (airborne particles can cause me to have anaphylaxis) I politely asked if they would mind putting them away for a moment whilst I moved seats just so I didn’t inhale anything to get anything on me, luckily they didn’t mind at all and even offered to move to a different area themselves which was very sweet but myself and my DH found some empty seats quite far away from the stage but I really wasn’t going to inconvenience someone due to my own problem.

That is a really nasty comment.

You're surprised that people with have allergies of varying severity?

Sorry, but no way is someone with allergies unable to appreciate that. It's the no 1 rule of allergies -everyone reacts differently. And no2 rule- even the same person can react differently on different days (depending on health, stress levels etc etc)

She could have moved.

I am very allergic to pollen especially tree pollen. I have had episodes so bad I could hardly see (on one occasion due to a mystery allergy I had to take a day off work) but do I ask for all trees to be removed? No, I take medication and get out and enjoy nature. If I couldn't do that I would just stay away.

Not everyone owns a car

Not all of them. I get single decker buses in London every day as part of my commute.

As a non allergic dog liker who grew up with dogs the selfishness and self entitlement of many of the dog lovers on this thread is absolutely shocking.

I don't have a dog
I don't have allergies
I don't dislike dogs

But since when did having your four legged friend with you all the time trump the health of other people around you?

YANBU, it is not up to everyone else to manage a particular person's allergies/phobias/distress,
Sorry about your allergy, but it is not my responsibility.
Yes, I chose to have a dog as a big 'fuck you' to dog allergic people.

Examples of how utterly selfish some dog owners can be ^^
It's all about me me me and what I want without any consideration towards other people

Maybe consider we all (should) have a responsibility to our fellow humans, first and foremost. That would be the kind thing to do.

I agree, and this is clearly lacking on this thread. I'm sorry that the selfish dog owners have been piling on you @Fourteenhouses. I think all dog owners should walk in your shoes before commenting.

All this thread is doing is conforming to the stereotype that all dog lovers are selfish and self entitled and are unable to go anywhere without their dogs.

And in real life I know this isn't true, because all my friends who have dogs are considerate, and aren't selfish or self entitled.

And finally

Dogs are NOT more important than people.

When my son has bad episodes due to pollen we joke about cutting down all the trees

For a while he planned to be an astronaut when he grew up just so he could escape the pollen! He has an amazing nasal spray now though and pretty much forgets he has hay fever it works so well for him

No. Nobody has the right to kick someone else out of a public place, and depriving the cafe owner of any amount of income at a time when lots of independent cafes and restaurants are really struggling to stay open is not on. All she had to was pop her head through the door, say “excuse me, is this cafe dog friendly?” owner says yes, they go somewhere else. But she didn’t. She made an assumption because there were no signs and then decided everyone else had to be inconvenienced because of her assumption.

There are plenty of asthmatics who don't deal too well with car fumes, shall we ban cars

There are dog owners who won't go if they can't take their dogs so I suppose the cafe owners will make a business decision. I don't specifically take the dog out for a meal but if I'm out for a day walking, for example, I want to be able to have a coffee or a meal. If it's a nice day I will choose outdoor seating if there is any.

@HRTQueen

If I was the dog owner, I would have left for the child's sake. But that doesn't change the fact that this was a situation entirely of the parent's making. She mistakenly though that it was dog free. Mistakes happen but the entitled attitude she has shown towards dog owners is what has got a lot of people's backs up on this thread.

And trees, flowers, perfume, birds.

This.
I'm a dog owner and if my dog was distressing someone I would move him. But you also need to take responsibility. If your child is allergic then you need to check where you're taking him in case there was a dog there a few minutes before etc. Unusual for there not to be a sign but it would have taken you seconds to ask.

Maybe you should find somewhere that isn't dog friendly, you can't dictate to people, they are allowed to take their dog if the cafe owner is happy with that.

Entitled because her child has allergies and her child is autistic 🙄 seriously wtf

no people have shown up how utterly selfish they are if a friend was telling me she was annoyed becuase she was asked to leave a cafe with her dog in this situation I would challenge her on why she couldn’t show empathy thankfully I don’t think any of my friends would react like this (though people fo surprise you)

The problem is Fourteenhouses made a few comments herself about guide dogs and I think that's what shocked a lot of us. I do also think that we won't always be around to mitigate our childrens meltdowns - people won't always be as understanding either. So sometimes the right thing to do, as inconvenient as it is and yeah it's hard work and shit - but removing them from the distressing situation might be better for them than causing a scene.

My child is currently a 4 year old who at first glance is mistaken for a 2 year old so gets a lot of understanding and kindness currently, in 10 years time when she's a 14 year old she won't get that same level of compassion, as unfair and shit as it is the world isn't going to change.

The passenger was definitely rude and the onus should have been on them to move towards the back of the bus, especially after you so considerately moved the first time.

I have only ever caught the bus with my dog once when I sprained my ankle while out walking him, there was no way, I would have been forced to stand. I don't like confrontation so not quite sure how I would have managed it if the same happened to me.

What if it swallowed a small child?

What a commute that would be.

Rampantivy, I think the same about car drivers

My dog's mild pancreatitis turned acute and he collapsed. I couldn't carry him the mile to the vet and no taxi would take us a short distance. I called 2 local companies. There's a bus stop.at the bottom of our road and right outside the vet.

I’d move/leave if my dog was causing someone stress but I’d think they were pretty stupid going to a place without checking if they were dog friendly.
I’d also have moved along the bus for the allergic lady if she’d been polite.
Some dogs do trump some people.
Sneering “fur babies” constantly on threads like this is lame. Find another “insult”.

Why did you chose to go to a dog friendly cafe if you didn't want to encounter dogs? There are plenty of non-dog friendly cafe's around surely.