Advice: A letter writer’s sister-in-law invited a friend who is deathly afraid of dogs to their house even though they have three golden retrievers.
We also have three beautiful, well-trained golden retrievers. They are as much a part of our family as the humans, and everybody who comes to visit loves them.
At one large family gathering, with 12 relatives staying in our house, my sister-in-law announced she had invited a college friend from 40 years earlier, plus the friend’s husband, to spend an entire day with us. They would join us for the planned celebratory lunch, dinner and festivities. Then we were warned that the friend, despite being a licensed psychiatrist, has a deathly and obsessive terror of dogs. When she sees any dog, she becomes hysterical, jumps up on chairs, screams, etc.
This uninvited guest was in our house from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. — 12 hours. And this is somebody we do not know. It really ruined the day, the celebration, everything. We understand that not everyone likes dogs, and we NEVER take our dogs to other people’s homes or parties unless specifically invited. We would not even think of doing so.
Another family gathering is coming up, and my sister-in-law has announced her friend will be coming again. This is not amenable to us. How do we get out of this without offending everybody? I am so frustrated with all of this. What is the old saying? “No good deed goes unpunished?”reasonably and justifiably say, “I am afraid that while we enjoyed meeting your friend, we simply cannot guarantee a safe environment for her with the dogs. Perhaps we should meet at your home in the future.
While it is true that Miss Manners generally prioritizes the comfort of guests over animals, she makes a notable exception when the guest was never invited in the first place. If your sister-in-law objects, you might politely remind her of that.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Miss Manners: Our new co-worker is offended by our lunchtime habitShould we change our conversation to her taste?
Read more »
Miss Manners: Her hysteria about our dogs ruined the whole partyHow do we tell her she’s no longer welcome in our house?
Read more »
Miss Manners: Co-workers’ new colleague takes her lunchbox and leaves when midday meal talk gets livelyWe didn’t want to be rude, so we have allowed her to eat with us. However, she seems to get upset when we discuss our personal lives ...
Read more »
How to help teens navigate mental health advice on TikTokWith more teenagers turning to TikTok for mental health advice, how can you tell which is real? We hear from a psychologist to find out.
Read more »
Kevin Bacon Gives Hilarious Marriage Advice Ahead of 35th Anniversary'If I was to give advice, I would say the one thing you don't want to do is take a celebrity's advice on how to stay married.'
Read more »
Genre-Bending London Boy Bakar Takes Our 'Sound Advice' QuestionnaireWelcome back to SoundAdvice 🔈 This week's playlist was curated by London boy yeaabk whose new single “Good News” debuted at last month’s Givenchy Men’s FW23 show ⛓
Read more »