This is an automated archive.
The original was posted on /r/amitheasshole by /u/Antique_Employ_424 on 2023-12-29 15:19:49+00:00.
I (20f) am a college student with a service dog, Dixie. I have had Dixie since she was born and have spent the last two years raising her to be my service dog, spending thousands of dollars and countless hours. Over the holidays, I brought Dixie with me to see family. My aunt (51f) loves dogs and Dixie is super sweet, so my aunt was glued to her. On the third day of visiting, my aunt asked to take Dixie for a walk. I was fine with it, but I couldn't go with them because I was helping in the kitchen. So my aunt and Dixie go on their walk and I continue with my work. I was also grateful that someone else was willing to take her because Dixie is a high-energy dog (Australian shepherd) and only gets tired after about three miles.
Something to know about Dixie is that ever since she was a puppy, she has had a habit of holding things in her mouth when she is excited. Generally, this is one of her toys, but if she doesn't have a toy around, she'll grab whatever is closest. I know this is a habit of hers, so when we go outside, she always brings her raccoon when she is off duty. She did on this walk as well. However, my aunt took it away from her as they were leaving and left it by the front door. I don't see this aunt very often, but I did tell her that Dixie takes the raccoon everywhere.
On their walk, Dixie picked up a sizeable rock to hold in her mouth. My aunt tried to take this away as well, and Dixie resisted. In trying to keep the rock, she accidentally swallowed it. My aunt came back right away, and I took Dixie to the nearest emergency vet, over three hours away. (It was past 8 pm at this point and all the vets in between were closed for the night.) Dixie ended up needing surgery to remove the rock and repair the damage to her throat, but she is expected to recover well.
As I was waiting, I called my family to tell them that Dixie was in surgery. My family all expressed their sympathy and my aunt apologized for letting this happen. Once I was done on the phone, I texted my aunt asking for her to pay the vet bill, which ended up coming to almost $2000. She called me an AH for asking her and not accepting her apology. While I do accept her apology, and I know accidents happen, this is a big expense that is more of a burden on me than her. My aunt is a multimillionaire who just spent ten times that on a lavish tropical vacation. As a college student, this would wipe out my savings and I need the money to pay my tuition for the upcoming semester. She is now downstairs complaining about my entitlement to my entire family, and most of them agree with her. So, AITA?
EDIT: We were all at my mom's brother's house, who is also my aunt's brother. It included my nuclear family (my parents and two siblings), my aunt's nuclear family (husband and three teen boys), my uncle's nuclear family (wife and toddler son), and my grandma.