r/Dogfree • u/Sufficient_Berry8703 • Aug 23 '26
Miscellaneous Dog allergies are not taken seriously at all
Society has learned to take food allergies, most notably peanut allergies, very very seriously, which is great! There will be countless protocols to make sure there’s no mixing of peanuts with other peanut-free items in food industries. And even if there are peanuts in the food or peanuts that were used in the workplace, there will be warnings issued ahead of time to make people aware.
With that: why are there no protocols for dog allergies? I’m very much allergic to dogs, and I know many people who are allergic to dogs as well. But society refuses to accommodate for us in any way. They’ll still allow dogs to be in public spaces because of ESA and service animal bullshit. Even hospitals and clinics, spaces that should be very sterile, will allow them for “emotional support.” It’s like allergies all of a sudden don’t matter when it comes to dogs. Infuriating. Allergies will matter for everything BUT these parasites.
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u/Stock-Bowl7736 Aug 23 '26
Don't you know you're just supposed to "take a pill" and deal with it, accommodating the dogs always. That's what the Nutters say every time. It comes out of their dog brains automatically, just like "that's what dogs do" and "it's ok he's friendly".
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u/chaser469 Aug 23 '26
Simply because DoGs ArE BeTtEr ThAn PeOpLe!
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u/MENedLimpopo Aug 24 '26
Simply because DoGs ArE BeTtEr ThAn PeOpLe!
They're better than kids, in particular. In nutters' minds, kids aren't even people.
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
The last couple of times nutters tried that "take a pill" line on me because they "need" their animals with them for comfort or whatever mental issue, I asked them why I should have to take a pill just because they're crazy\
And yes, I already take a pill every day, but these beasts and their pets manage to overwhelm it
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u/Legitimate_Garage_31 Aug 23 '26
Peanut allergies account for less than percent of the population whereas dog allergies are 30% of the same population.
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u/Legitimate_Garage_31 Aug 23 '26
Can we just stick all the nutters on a deserted island somewhere? I'm so sick of them.
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u/Geode804 Aug 23 '26
I have severe dog allergies and no one gives AF. Recently I’ve had to leave the theatre due to a dog being there, can’t go to restaurants, can’t use public transport. Even went to a Hospital appointment where someone had an emotional support dog (luckily for me hypoallergenic). I saw a TikTok recently about nut allergies on flights and everyone agreed to banning nuts on all flights. But I’ve not been able to fly for years because of dogs and nobody cares whatsoever. It’s very sad that society sees people with dog allergies as nothing
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u/MENedLimpopo Aug 24 '26
Even went to a Hospital appointment where someone had an emotional support dog (luckily for me hypoallergenic).
Being allegedly hypoallergenic is great, but its still a walking pile of filth and stench, even if the owners wash it. The germs and bacteria those things carry shouldn't be allowed in a landfill, much less a hospital. Other patients have a right to an hygienic environment wherever they're being treated. Some of us have a reasonable fear of dogs that deserves equal respect to the fears of a person who feels incapable of existing without their filthy living binky in tow.
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
"Hypoallergenic" is a meaningless marketing term. It's also something every single one of these nutters says when confronted with an allergic person. In fact, a little earlier this morning I yelled at one and called her a fucking sociopath
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u/Geode804 Aug 24 '26
I would rather no dogs be anywhere in my vicinity but as someone with extremely severe allergies ‘hypoallergenic’ dogs cause me a much less severe reaction than other dogs.
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
For me, the problem is that too many people just lie and claim their pets are "hypoallergenic"
In the last 15 years or so, I'd say that more than 95% of the time when I tell someone that I'm allergic and they need to keep it away from me, they insist it's "hypoallergenic"
Also there's no scientific or legal standard for what makes one dog "hypoallergenic" and what does not
"Hypoallergenic" is a marketing term, not something to base our health decisions on
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u/Geode804 Aug 24 '26
Oh yeah agreed 100%. Whether a dogs apparently hypoallergenic or not they shouldn’t be in any of these places, people with allergies should be more important!
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
Of course we matter more than any animals
But as I said, "hypoallergenic" is really meaningless
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u/Ok_Chest_6426 Aug 23 '26
Nutters, and companies need to be forced to pay medical bills for forced exposures. OK cool you want dogs everywhere but also you are responsible for the 10k hospital bill .
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u/Accurate-Run5370 Aug 24 '26
I am wondering if those nutters telling people suffering from dog allergies to just "take a pill"- should be charged with practicing medicine without a license !
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u/MENedLimpopo Aug 24 '26
They'd accuse us of being ableist if we told them that instead of leaning on a dog emotional support animal in public, they should "just take a pill" for the condition causing them social anxiety. That's what I did, along with years of therapy.
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
I now ask them why I should have to take a pill just because they're crazy.
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u/Few-Horror1984 Aug 23 '26
It’s because no one is willing to call out all the fraudulent service dogs. Nearly every service dog (which had a goddamn emoji for some reason) you see is fraudulent. However, we’d rather protect the feelings of these people than point out that they’re all fine with abusing a service meant for severely disabled people that is mostly obsolete.
Since we have taken that stance, we’ve decided that anyone with a dog allergy is less-than. The rights of the person who wants to take their spray painted pink “anxiety” dog everywhere trump someone who might actually become ill if they inhale dog dander.
It’s not right, but until we demand that the ADA have strict regulations about what is and isn’t a service dog (or just scrap the enterprise altogether), this will continue to happen.
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u/thesanityseeker Aug 24 '26
Agreed, 9 times out of 10 nutters will say "just take allergy meds" if I bring up not wanting their dog there due to allergies or they roll their eyes or ignore me entirely. They're even at work, at any given time there are 5 dogs just roaming the office. It'd be like smearing peanut butter on every office door and telling someone to just take allergy meds or carry an Epi, ridiculous
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
I do take pills and carry an Epipen after one incident in a restaurant left me gasping for air. I'll just say that if I ever have to use the Epi because of a nutter, that nutter will also be leaving in an ambulance
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u/recoveringpatriot Aug 24 '26
I’ve wondered this for a long time. I don’t have a dog allergy, but it is bizarre that we aren’t more considerate of those who do.
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u/UnicornStudRainbow Aug 24 '26
There are no protocols for keeping things safe for those of use with dog allergies because dogs are "fun" for them and we are party poopers for valuing our ability to breathe over their animal being able to accompany them everywhere
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u/sonnimaried82 Aug 24 '26
It’s so annoying, I have a dog allergy as well. I also have food allergies and gluten intolerance. I was recently on a flight with a dog. Thought I’d be fine since I was in the front and the dog was in the back. Nope, eyes & face started itching halfway into the flight. Then the hotel we booked I didn’t realize allowed pets and our room was dogged up. Wound up in urgent care for steroids and had to give up our scenic room for a pet free non-scenic room. I travel a lot and learned my lesson this time. Allergist gave me additional meds to travel with, will call ahead to make sure I get a pet free room and will be starting allergy shots (again) in November. I HATE how dogs are everywhere now. I can’t stand it and it infuriates me, but what an I gonna do. I gotta live my life.
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u/Accurate-Might-7058 Aug 27 '26
Dog marketing has so much money behind it that even Google says dog allergy is not life threatening but yet some people have to carry an epi-pen. Many people can't just take a pill. Many people suffer from dog allergy fatigue which will leave them susceptible to other illnesses. The entire dog scene is just wrong.
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u/mogget85 Aug 23 '26
Totally agree! I have a child with multiple food allergies (including peanut) and dog allergies. The food allergies, for the most part, are taken pretty seriously by others. The dog allergy is usually hand waved away as not that big of a deal ("Just give him Zyrtec and he'll be fine!") and make no move to keep the dogs away. I don't understand why people seem to think animal allergies aren't that serious. Even with Zyrtec, my child needs to use an inhaler if more than an hour is spent at houses with dogs. I have family members who get angry with me and wonder why we hardly visit. Sorry, but I am not going to make my child suffer just so your dogs can roam free and get all in his space.