We all want to support our loved ones when they tie the knot by attending their wedding, but being there on the day isn't always possible if there's an emergency or you fall ill.
But one woman has made the decision to skip her aunt's wedding on purpose - after she was told she wouldn't be allowed to bring her dog with her on the day.
The woman said she suffers from anxiety and relies on her dog for comfort in large crowds, but admitted that her pooch is not a trained or registered emotional support animal (ESA), so is therefore not a service animal.
Because her dog isn't a trained ESA, her aunt told her it wouldn't be possible to bring him to the ceremony, as she couldn't be sure how the pet would behave in a room full of strangers.
And as a result, the woman is refusing to attend her aunt's wedding altogether, as she said she wouldn't be able to cope at the event without her dog.
In a post on Reddit, she said: "I experience anxiety with large crowds of people and my dog, who I've had for a few years now, helps me a lot with dealing with the anxiety and keeping my mind from racing.
"My aunt is having a wedding at the end of March and my mum has been wanting me to go to it. From what I know now, the wedding is gonna have 100 people there, with all of her family and the groom's family. I know I'm not gonna have a fun time there so I asked my mum if my aunt would be ok with bringing my dog to the wedding. My mum told me to ask her myself.
"My aunt does know about my dog and how he helps me a lot. He isn't certified to be an ESA but to me, I really do consider him to be one. I messaged my aunt asking her if it would be ok to bring my dog, and she automatically denied it, saying that she does not want any animals at her wedding and that she doesn't know how my dog will react to people there.
"I told her that my dog is good and he does well with people, but she kept saying that she doesn't want him there. I said I'm not going to go to the wedding then. She told me after that I would have to get used to being around people without my dog.
"I told my mum about this and she told me it's her wedding and she can do whatever she wants with it. I'm so upset because I thought she would allow me to bring him there. I told my sister about this and she said that I'm being crazy about this and that I should just go anyways and get over it."
Commenters on the post were largely on the bride's side, as they said that while they do understand the woman's anxiety, she can't expect her dog to be treated as an ESA without the proper training and certifications.
One person said: "This most likely is beyond your aunt's control too. Your dog has no legal rights to be anywhere public, as ESAs don't have the same rights as service animals. The venues your aunt is using most likely have a no-dog rule that would totally kick her out for breaking."
As another added: "It's a pet. It's not trained. This is someone's wedding. Your aunt is right - you need to get used to going places without the dog, or you need to go about registering (and training) the dog to be a Support Animal."
While a third posted: "You have a pet, not a service animal. It doesn't wear a vest and you are not entitled to bring it everywhere you feel like."
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