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.

@CottagePieLaLaLa is on point
@Goldenbear Animals have rights too, so do their owners. I for one always opt for places which are childfree as I quite frankly cannot stand the sound of children. If I was asked to leave with my dogs because of some entitled mother, I would make sure to post this all over social media so that other dog owners could boycott the cafe.

Be careful you’ll get called a liar if you say you rarely see a guide dog- I’ve never seen one in rl and was called a liar on here !!!

That said I’m grateful to the poster who kindly posted a link to the law on guide dogs as I didn’t realise they did take priority so I’m happy to be educated in that area after responding wrongly to a hypothetical situation presented to me

Service animals are well trained and a necessity, quite different to taking your pet on a trip! I presume this has become a lot more common as people used to be happy to leave their pet at home for a couple of hours, because they’re a pet and can’t necessarily do everything with their owners.
I think in this instance you weren’t totally unreasonable as you moved away from her a sufficient amount. I don’t think everywhere should be open access to pet dogs though, especially not inside eating places. If cafes are going to let dogs inside they need to very clearly display that as it’s not really the done thing

That YOU rarely see one doesn't mean they are not around so it is in fact a very valid argument. I see them with infrequent but not rare regularity. I also see people fostering the pups that are going ti be trained and they are taken everywhere as they need to be desensitised and training starts with that. What is your response to the point? If you are allergic/phobic and a guide/service dog is on/gets on the bus, how would you react? What would you do?

I dislike people's feral children but I do not ask for them to be banned from the premises. In my experience, most dogs are better behaved than children!

I would have thought anyone with a very severe allergy would also be at risk from any dog owner who might have dog fluff on their clothing.

A couple who are both blind live just round the corner from me so I see their guide dogs all the time. I also see dogs that are being trained. There are other support dogs as well I believe although I don't know much about them. Must look it up.

@Fourteenhouses I'm sorry if you have answered as this thread has become huge! But what would you do if a guide dog entered the cafe? It's NOT a ridiculous hypothetical. It happens every day of the week. It is something that is realistically possible. Not at all far fetched.

It's funny how many people can't stand the sound/sight of children on here.
I don't like dogs. I'm not about to post on a pet forum 😂

@Fourteenhouses how did you not know that Guide Dogs take priority? They are basically the persons "eyes" so that means it's a person taking priority. I can't believe you wouldn't know that about Guide Dogs.

I am also allergic to cats, dogs and horses but not to a life threatening degree. I get very sore, itchy eyes almost as soon as o go into a cat owners house them get full blown cold symptoms with a runny nose and tight chest. I always carry antihistamines with me and a bottle of water so I can take a couple of tablets if I am affected while out. Even if I take a tablet before I go to my sisters house, I still need to take another one after a couple of hours.

I was on a plane in the US and ended up sitting close to a family with a service dog. The plane was full and I don’t like making a fuss so just asked for a cup of water so I could take antihistamines. I was given the choice of moving to another seat but as I had paid for first class and the other seat was economy, I decided to remain where I was - my choice but the flight was only three hours so I took the risk! I would not expect the family to be moved, it was my problem to deal with!

I know if I sit next to someone if they have furry pets at home so I’m used to taking preventative action. I do avoid dog friendly cafes though as I’m not keen on animals being in places that sell food but again, that’s my problem and I would not make a fuss about it.

They are indeed well trained. But still going ti affect someone with an allergy or phobia. So what would you do?

Oh well just had a quick look and one of the things that qualifies for support dogs is autism, also deafness and epilepsy.

Exactly we just spent the whole of the weekend at an exhibition in Bath and some parent decided it was appropriate place to bring her 2 year old to.
The kid kept winging and crying on and off during the tour and I honestly couldn't understand how someone could be so self-centred. Felt bad for the toddler too as he didn't want to be there!

@nomoredriving yes there have always been dog friendly places. Absolutely no problem with that. Everyone knew where they were and could cjose to frequent or avoid them as they chose. What is new is that everywhere is dog friendly - it is now the default. Before the pandemic, no dogs was the default.

And not every cafe / independent eaterie has a web site that says explicitly. I've just had lunch in a small local business. I still don't know if it's dog friendly or not as there were no dogs in there, no signs, no web site. For the record I don't care if it was or not.

I think calling it 'slack parenting' not to check everywhere you go is really really unfair.

Or an autistic child with their support dog.

@Tribute219
Maybe leave your brats at home?
Or learn to parent so you or your feral children do not bother other guests.

You're the one with the problem, why should they have left?

Hi ! Yes i did answer that previously ! But I was WRONG !!!!

I thought it would be a case of both parties disabled (us ASD - hypothetical person -blind) therefore I thought it would come down to who was there first. So actually now I’m realising I was wrong as someone kindly posted a link to the law on guide dogs. So In that situation I’d have had to leave but I’d have needed some help as ds will attack me if mid meltdown and wanting to compete his ‘task ‘ ( in this case having a snack)

In the actual scenario that happened to us I still 100% maintain I was in the right as the dogs involved weren’t guide dogs but I do hold my hands up and say my initial answer to the guide dog hypothetical scenario was unintentionally wrong

According to PP they never seem a dog in a cafe!

It's slack parenting if your child has an allergy, to not check. The PP that posted about her DS, said it's unfair dogs are "everywhere", so it was hardly a shock that dogs were allowed.

What would you call it, if not slack?

It inconvenienced other customers, lost the cafe income. That's not acceptable.

I don't have allergies but whether I stay on the bus would depend on the dog.
Guide dog I would be fine
small to medium dog I would move elsewhere on the bus (after a glance of disgust at the owner)
Pit bull or the like I would be off the bus like a shot so long as I didn't have to pass it (if I couldnt get off without passing it I would be cowering in the corner until it moves)

Depends if support dogs are covered by the same law as guide dogs for the fight impaired ?

*sight

It would be interesting to know this.

At no point have I suggested my children are poorly behaved in public or would go anywhere near a dog. In fact they definitely know better.
I wonder why you are so angry that you need to project anything onto my children 😂