TL:DR: my best friend bailed fairly last minute on watching my dog to go meet her boyfriends family.
For context, my (28F) and one of my closest friends (27F) have been friends since elementary school. I, honest to god, can’t remember the last time we even had a true disagreement – probably high school.
I was planning my 7 year anniversary trip in January. Found a cute little airbnb but it doesn’t allow pets. I have a 1yo golden retriever and asked her if she would be open to watch him. She said yes so I booked the weekend trip.
Fast forward to now. The trip is two weeks away. My friend has a new boyfriend.
She texts me last night that she’s going to go meet his parents that weekend.
Yesterday, it was them going over for dinner – no problem, our dog can be left alone for a few hours.
Today, it’s now they’re staying over so they can go to church in the morning so she’s no longer available to watch him except for the Friday night.
I’m very anxious about leaving our dog at boarding so while that’s an (expensive) option, I know for my peace of mind that I would prefer to cancel and stay home than leave our dog with people I don’t know.
I looked into cancelling our trip but I would lose out on hundreds of dollars because it is considered a last minute cancellation.
I don’t have anyone else nearby that can watch him. I know it’s a commitment, hence why I made these plans with her before booking the trip.
I was honest and told her that I was upset.
She apologized but said that I should be more understanding of her situation because meeting his family is very important to her.
I told her that I respect her decision but I don’t understand because I wouldn’t have made plans when I have prior commitments. I would have asked to do a different time to make both work (his family lives an hour away and it isn’t a special occasion).
We aren’t speaking now, which I think is for the best.
I’m really struggling because 1) I rarely rely on others because I don’t want to inconvenience someone or myself be let down and 2) she’s told me how her boyfriend has gotten upset when she’s tried to prioritize her family/friends before.
Are my feelings valid or am I overreacting?
Update as I’m writing this: I’ve found someone to watch the dog so we can still go away but how I’m feeling about this situation hasn’t changed. I’m happy she has found someone and know you need to prioritize them but this just felt unnecessary.
Thanks in advanced for the advice.