ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A somewhat junior employee at a local mid-tier domestic public relations firm has surprised their human resources department this morning by asking for “pet leave.”
The firm, Galhooleys & Partners, told The Advocate that they offer a number of different forms of leave to their employees, but “pet leave” is not one of them.
The conversation with HR took place after Kevin Boing, a middle manager with no official job title, discovered that Galhooleys offers a generous and competitive paternity leave package, in addition to an industry-leading maternity leave program.
Kevin spoke to our reporter this morning in the café opposite their Old City District offices, where he said HR laughed at him.
“They asked me if I had rocks in my head instead of a brain,” he said.
“I didn’t ask for much. I simply stated that I got a new dog and I wanted to take six weeks off to bond with him. The head of HR looked at me as if I had just requested a pay raise in line with inflation—as if I were some kind of moron. She asked if I was serious, and I replied yes. She burst out laughing and called in the CEO to have me repeat what I said.”
“He started laughing, too. He said it’s just a fucking dog, which I find really rude and unprofessional. This afternoon, I went to an employment lawyer who also laughed at me,”
“But I believe it warrants a broader discussion about people getting all this time off just because they’ve had a baby. What if you don’t want one? A dog is more than just a dog. Non-dog people don’t understand that the first six weeks with a new pet are the most important. Otherwise, they’ll simply see you as the person who opens dog food cans, and that’s it,”
“I just don’t think it’s fair. Smokers get to go outside for 15 minutes and relax while I’m working. I only live five minutes away, and if I were to leave my desk for five minutes to let the dog out and then return, I’d be in big trouble,”
“They could have simply said no. They didn’t have to belittle me.”
More to come.
