Do You Deserve Special Treatment on Vacation?

July 31, 2009 — -- Q: I have a very well-behaved poodle named Pickles. She has never, ever had an accident indoors. She doesn't bark or bite or chew furniture. I'm a bridesmaid in my cousin Ann's wedding next month, and the hotel where everyone is staying has a no-pets policy. I'm sure no one would even notice Pickles if I brought her. Can I sneak her in? Or maybe I could say she's a service dog?

A: To heck with the hotel's silly "policy"! Go ahead and say Pickles is a service dog! In fact, you should bring Pickles to the wedding itself. What bride wouldn't love a surprise furry guest?

Dream on, darling. You'll travel by unicorn before you get an answer like that from me. I understand you love your dog, but that doesn't mean you deserve special treatment. If you want to bring Pickles, stay at a different hotel where she's welcome and deal with the inconvenience (and lack of a wedding-party discount).

Q: On my last flight, I got stuck in a middle seat. The guy in the aisle seat fell asleep. I needed to use the bathroom, so I woke him up to ask if I could go by. He acted like this was a huge imposition (eye-rolling, exaggerated sighing, etc.). Did I do something wrong?

A: Not at all. The person in the aisle seat doesn't get to play Cerberus and prevent the other people in the row from ever escaping. Mr. Sleepyhead was the rude one here. As long as you apologized for waking him and asked politely, there's nothing more you could have done. Obviously, you should minimize the number of times you make other people get up (this means you, people who need to grab something from the overhead compartment every five minutes), but his reaction to your request was absurd.