I have dogs, I love dogs, they are part of our family .. but i don't understand people who feel the need to take their dogs everywhere. And truthfully some dog parents are insufferable with their animals .. like you can leave your dog for 10 minutes without checking on her Todd. She will be fine

A dog sitter to go out at night? Seriously? Yeah they do sound like the sort of "pet parents" who are annoying af

I'm a dog owner... and I say NTA. I leave my dog at home. Patios suck... smokers on the street, car noise on the street, seating is less comfortable. Time to evolve toward friends who suit your needs. Aggressive ex-guy friend is a jerk!

I am tired of seeing dogs at restaurants (indoor and outdoor), Lowes, etc. And I love dogs! But there is a time and a place.

I'm not a dog person, I would never harm a dog, I will occasionally stroke a friend's dog but I don't want them around me when I eat. I've now stopped going to my once favourite cafe as they now allow dogs inside. A lot of dog people act like you are some kind of apocalypse demon if you don't instantly fall in love with their fur baby. I don't force visitors to my home to interact with my cats, so don't force me to love your dog.

NTA! They had a choice and they made it. Just as did the friends when they brought the dog. And I'm sorry, u don't need a "dog sitter" to go out for a meal.

Terrible headline, Bored Panda! They aren't "dog haters;" they just don't want to be around them when eating. We've had dogs in the past and have several family members who have them now, but none of us would ever consider taking them to a restaurant!

The friends with the dog are TAs here. Why not call ahead to let your friends know? Why get there early in order to get a pet friendly patio? The A....le friends come across as manipulative.

I'm tired of people complaining about dogs, people have had dogs since the fkn stone age. Get used to them. It would be cruel to get a dog (who are pack animals that don't like being left on their own for too long), and then just leave them at home to do nothing all day while you go out and have fun. I get if dogs aren't welcome at grocery stores or chemists where people who may be allergic NEED to go, but no one needs to sit outside at a bar/restaurant. So let the dogs be as long as they behave (if they don't that's another thing, same for cats or birds or whatever. Also keeping them on a lead when in public is a fair request as well.) it's not an issue. EDIT: The friend even tried to accommodate OP by finding a sitter, but they couldn't show. If OP cares that little about seeing his friends then why even stay friends.

Even if you don't like animals why is it a problem? 'Not having dinner with that' the only THATS at that table would have been you and your partner. There's something not right with people who look down on animals as much as you do and I'd be automatically not interested in someone like you. Huge red flag

This guy sounds like a moron. I don't have kids and never wanted them but I don't ruin friendships with those that have kids. Am I supposed to have a temper tantrum when they bring their kids? No. This is the same thing. These friends of his are better off without him.

TA. if the dog just lays down next to them and is many feet away from you, cuz its at the other end of the table, then there is no reason to leave AND be a total A**HOLE to ur friends because the DOGSITTER was the one who didnt show up to baby sit their dog so that their dog didnt (not on purpose, obvi) cause trouble! plus, even if that happened and they were closer than you would perfer, you could say to your friend(owner of dog) "hey, could the dog be moved further away from me or could you perhaps find someone, like, a friend of yours to watch your dog instead of the petsitter?" bruh 100% TA.

Pfft this guy is 100% yta. Grow up. If the patio allows dogs then too bad. If the dog is trained, its allowed to exist. I would stop being friends with such an immature loser.

I think part of the problem is, that over covid a number of people adopted dogs. Those dogs got used to their humans around them all the time, and so, if the owner goes away for any reasonable amount of time the dog stresses. This can be trained out if the owners get proper training in how to deal with this. So unless dog goes everywhere, all the time with the friends they'll find issues coming up if they don't do something to fix this as not all places will welcome dogs.

ESH. I love dogs and have always had them. If I had plans for dinner, my dogs would stay home. Frankly, I wouldn't want to be friends either with someone who makes pet-hating his entire personality or with someone who can't go anywhere without their dog. They all need to grow up.

YTA BIGSTYLE I suspect your selfish cold heart hates babies and cats and the elderly. I hope if you 2 jerks have a baby, you have all kinds of "friends" comment on his big nose, his foul smell, his constant bawling, his puking everywhere, his fat stumpy legs, his breaking other peoples expensive items and make you feel very unwelcome to bring him. I hope if you do have the nerve to bring him, they tell you to make sure to bring a cage for him. I hope they tell you to stick the wee monster in a spare bathroom in his pen so no one can hear "it" screaming over nothing. YOU ARE A HUGE A*****E!!!!!

NTA. It shouldn't matter if they brought a dog, a screaming newborn or OPs ex GF... they didn't want to be around the third party so they had every right to leave and since OP's friends clearly knew Op and his fiancé didn't like dogs and even had a sitter (not sure why they would need one for a few hours though) they brought the dog along with no warning and hoping OP would just go along with it. He didn't. That's on them. I have three dogs, two cats, three kids and if I'm meeting up with friends I'm not bringing anything or anyone who wasn't also included in the plans beforehand. That's rude!

I mean, whatever your reasons are, I imagine any animal would sense that hostility, and so the owners cannot say what will or will not happen. You did the right thing.

I sort of get this to an extent. My husband and I went out for dinner with friends and they brought their dog unannounced. They also talked the restaurant owners into letting them bring their dog into the restaurant. The dog was not well behaved. I also am not a dog person and I had a hard time enjoying my meal because the dog had a hard time settling. But I suffered through it and then we just never went out with those friends again.

I love dogs, we used to have one. Still, the mere thought of a dog shaking off hairs, which fly in the air and drop on my plate, disgusts me. Our irish setter was never allowed in the living room during lunch or dinner. It's just unhygienic.

i don't get it... they know you don't like dogs, but bring them anyways and it was to a restaurant? unless a service animal, the last thing i want to eat around is someone's pet. it's one thing if you guys are out walking with the dog and stop by a cafe for a cup of coffee and sit out on the patio, but a planned outing? then we have a "dogsitter"? like i have 3 needy bonded cats right now(bengals), i've had dogs in the past and i love my animals, but a sitter for a couple of hours? we'd only consider a sitter for the girls if we were gone overnight due to their diet(raw). dogs do need more attention with their need to go for walks, but you can leave them long enough to have a meal and movie etc. if their dog has separation anxiety, there are ways to deal with it and they're not helping the poor dog. how do these people function? people are saying they have made dog hating part of their personality, but what about these people not being able to function without their dog with them?

ESH. Regarding OP's friends: If you feel like you literally can't leave the dog alone, either find a replacement dogsitter or cancel the dinner. Also, if the dog *needs* someone with it, your reassurances to other people that it will do nothing to bother them are going to sound hollow. That said, the OP's problem seems to be the mere presence of the dog. I thought I was going to be reading a story about how the dog is uncontrollable and the owners can't or won't control it, but no. He just doesn't want the dog present at all. So, the dog could still be the best behaved dog in the world, not bother him, not even look at him, and he would still have a huge problem with it. That is a pretty s****y personality trait. OP needs to get over himself. His friends need to be more considerate. Hence, ESH.

You don't like dogs. You were surprised and upset. All understandable, but you handled it sooo dramatically. Could have been handled tactfully. Your bad call on this one.