Woman Refuses to Attend Thanksgiving Dinner After Sister-in-law’s Dog Tries to Pounce Her Baby, In-laws Call Her Dramatic When She Insists Dog Stays in Locked Room

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Nov 9, 2024 2:00 PM EST

Thanksgiving is one of the most sacred holidays. From the coziness and warmth, to the delectable dinner items of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, how can you go wrong? This eclectic spread remains a tradition and a staple of American cuisine, and don't get us started on the leftovers. Although the holiday is a cultural favorite, when families get together, you never know what can happen. 

When mixing in-laws, there's bound to be some drama. Take this Reddit piece for example. The original poster (OP) is a woman who's in a debacle with her sister-in-law and mother-in-law over a dog. The OP has just had a baby, and before the celebrated holiday arrives, the dog tries to attack her newborn. A little pooch may seem innocuous, but they're capable of destroying lives. To prevent a situation like this again, OP demands that the dog be kept in a separate room during Thanksgiving dinner. But OP's SIL won't back down that easily…

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  • 01
    r/AITAH ⚫ Jass_the_Yass AITAH for refusing to bring my daughter to her grandparents' house on thanksgiving?
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 02
    My sister in law (SIL) has a chihuahua that is basically her child. He has growled at my daughter basically since birth, with my SIL saying "he hates babies but it good with toddlers.” My daughter wasn't mobile so it was easy enough to keep them separate for a while. So now my child is a toddler (16 months) and
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 03
    last time we were all over together was one of the scariest moments of my life. The dog lunged at her face, growling and snapping. Luckily my daughter wasn't harmed but that was the last straw for my husband and I. We let them all know that was the last time she will be around that dog and they need to be
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 04
    separated from now on. My SIL wasn't in the room when it happened but apologized and agreed and said she would get her dog training.
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 05
    Fast forward a few months to today - we will all be getting together for thanksgiving and my SIL travels out of town and has to bring her dogs. We texted saying fyi - the dog needs to be in another room away from our daughter while we are there. She didn't answer. We call my mother in law (MIL) who was extremely
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 06
    defensive, saying the dog does not need to be secluded in another room if someone is holding him. To us, that is not good enough assurance. What if the dog jumps down, someone sits with him and our daughter walks up to them, etc. We talked to my father in law and he was wishy-washy with trying to smooth things over but also not
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 07
    confirm the dog would be in another room.
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 08
    We are letting them know this is non negotiable and we will not be coming to thanksgiving if the dog is not secluded in another room. Holding him while she is running around is not good enough. They are making us feel guilty and unreasonable, and guaranteeing that he can't harm her while someone holds him, but
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 09
    Cheezburger Image 10425892096
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 10
    UPDATE So my SIL texted back this evening with a vague one-line response saying they will keep my daughter safe. I responded and told her I'm glad we're in the same page, but unless he is put behind a shut door away from our daughter (gating isn't an option with the house layout) we
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 11
    aren't coming. She responded that obviously her parents are not okay with that plan and they will be kept separated, and if he shows any aggression her dogs would be shut in her room.
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 12
    So we are officially doing our first thanksgiving as a solo family tomorrow. My husband and I are understandably ped and heartbroken with his family but we will make the best of it. We are sure we're going to get calls from his parents tomorrow to guilt us and make us feel like we are being unreasonable. But our
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 13
    mind is made and luckily we have a lot of food because we were going to bring like half the thanksgiving meal. ③
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 14
    UPDATE 2 First of all, I had no idea this post was going to blow up like it did, but thank you all so much for sharing all of your stories and comments. It honestly helped validate our stance.
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 15
    And people are asking if we ended up going over today... no we did not. We had a great thanksgiving as a trio. We're not caving to their flawed logic for future events, so we might have more nuclear-family holidays in the future.
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 16
    The most important thing is my daughter is unharmed and safely sleeping in her crib. Thanks again and happy thanksgiving everyone!
    via u/Jass_the_Yass
  • 17
    doggieandlucy ⚫ NTA The first time my oldest was away from was when he was 14 months old. My parents took him to see my grandmother about 2 hours away. I stayed home to work.
    via u/doggieandlucy
  • 18
    Grandmother had a medium size dog that seemed fine. Well son was toddling around and tried to pet the dog and the lunged into his face and bit him in the cheek and through his mouth and lips. Son had to be taken to the ER and received 12 stitches. He's 37 now and the scar still shows to this day.
    via u/doggieandlucy
  • 19
    The dog also later attacked. a cousins child because Grandmother wouldn't put it up. Because "it wouldn't be fair to the dog". Don't go unless you are guaranteed that the dog will be put away.
    via u/doggieandlucy
  • 20
    Fire_or_water_kai ΝΤΑ Your request wasn't unreasonable, and it's your job to keep your child safe. Their assurances mean nothing based on what happened last time. If they complain that you're
    via u/Fire_or_water_kai
  • 21
    Cheezburger Image 10425895424
    via u/Fire_or_water_kai
  • 22
    Your inlaws are the AHs. Big time. I'm guessing they feel like the chihuahua is their grandchild, and your child comes a distant second. I'm a huge animal lover and have had dogs of all sizes, and I would never excuse my dog's behavior like that.
    via u/Fire_or_water_kai
  • 23
    It's a huge risk to take in hopes that a dog that has shown aggression won't maim your child. If there was a hill to di on, it's this.
    via u/Fire_or_water_kai

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