Fourth of July
Hi! I have a service dog in training, helping me with my immense PTSD. Fourth of July is a hard time because of all the noise, and at the end of the day, a service dog is still a dog (atleast, that’s how I see it) and as such I don’t do fireworks, because I don’t want to scare the animal meant to help me, one, and two I don’t like the noise anyway. My family, before I got the dog, has been able to successfully convince me to just go and watch them anyway. Now that I have him, I don’t go anymore. Yesterday, they had asked if I wanted to set off some smaller ones that would just barely come off the ground (like sparklers, I guess) I was originally on board, but they told me I couldn’t bring my dog out, so I stayed in.
Today, they had asked me if I wanted to see fireworks, big, loud, actual fireworks in the town over. Usually I’d say yes, otherwise it’d be a ‘buzzkill’ ‘you’re no fun’ ‘you never spend time with us’ ordeal, but this time I said no. They asked why, and I said because of my SD that I’ll just call P. My exact words were, “No, P and I are going to stay in till people stop with the fireworks,” followed by a laugh. My family member that asked groaned, and said, quote, ‘Can’t you go one outing without him?’
I said, “No, I can’t, that’s the point of me having him. So I don’t have to be alone in places I don’t want to be, especially in public.”
She told me she was upset with me, and that I never want to hang out with her, and that she’d never invite me out again if I was going to be like that.
Was I in the wrong? I was so worried my dog was going to be scared, and I generally didn’t want to go, but maybe I could’ve gone about it better…?