'He says it's a service animal': Homeowner won't allow friend's service dog in their home, internet is divided

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Oct 24, 2023 7:00 AM EDT

What is right, what is fair, and what should you do when it comes to accommodating your friends in your own home? Sure, it's your place, and you can do whatever you'd like, but that doesn't mean others have to like you for your lack of flexibility. This goes doubly when it comes to accommodating someone in the group's disability.

Still, animals are a tricky subject, and not everyone loves being around them or having them in their home. Although being a service animal should open the door for accommodation, it doesn't make it any less of an animal. As an animal lover, it stands to reason that pets are undoubtedly messy, and when you have pets who shed, you kind of just surrender your clothing and home to their fur and get used to it. Again, not everyone is on board with that, and some people will be actually allergic to these animals and genuinely aren't able to be around them, no matter how cute and fluffy they might be.

So, with that in mind, it would probably be wise to advise someone when you're going to be bringing an animal, service or otherwise, to their home when you know that they're not on board... but it's also hard to blame the people in the friend group who were upset at the host's reaction.