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Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#11

Post by Normal_gaussian »

pcunite wrote: post #8

Pet owners always say, "Oh, he won't hurt anyone. Isn't he cute? Down fido! Down boy! He's just excited. Can I get you something to drink?" The trouble is that animals act differently when the owner is not around. If possible, spray apple juice on your clothing before you leave for work that day. The animal will bite you, but you won't see it again after that.

This is horrible and immoral advice.

Disagreeing, complaining, and litigating are one thing. Deliberately falsifying a situation is quite another.

This is of course leaving aside the fact that the course of action you suggest could easily lead to a life being taken.

It is impossible for me to courteously describe how appalled I am at your advice.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#12

Post by Torgo »

cpersona wrote: post #2

I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.

Having a phobia is by definition not reasonable.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#13

Post by throwawaydog »

pcunite wrote: post #8

Pet owners always say, "Oh, he won't hurt anyone. Isn't he cute? Down fido! Down boy! He's just excited. Can I get you something to drink?" The trouble is that animals act differently when the owner is not around. If possible, spray apple juice on your clothing before you leave for work that day. The animal will bite you, but you won't see it again after that.

This seems like pretty bad advice, considering my issue with dogs is feeling like I'm going to get bitten. Why would I bring that on myself on purpose.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#14

Post by pcunite »

Normal_gaussian wrote: post #11
pcunite wrote: post #8

Pet owners always say, "Oh, he won't hurt anyone. Isn't he cute? Down fido! Down boy! He's just excited. Can I get you something to drink?" The trouble is that animals act differently when the owner is not around. If possible, spray apple juice on your clothing before you leave for work that day. The animal will bite you, but you won't see it again after that.

This is horrible and immoral advice. Disagreeing, complaining, and litigating are one thing. Deliberately falsifying a situation is quite another. This is of course leaving aside the fact that the course of action you suggest could easily lead to a life being taken. It is impossible for me to courteously describe how appalled I am at your advice.

Sigh ... it is humor.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#15

Post by Kaizyn »

throwawaydog wrote: post #7
ecspike wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a dog policy at my work but you have to house the pet in a specified meeting room and only move it when in transit to walk the dog or leave. That also means that there's generally a limit of one dog at a time. We also had someone who loved dogs but was deathly allergic. Like everyone said, talk to HR. They will figure something out.

Thanks, sounds like just bringing it up would be fine (and hopefully doesn't end up labling me a dog hater!). The whole pets policy seems crazy to me, what's to stop me bringing my SO to work because I enjoy her company. Do you think it's just convenient for the owner, or is there something behind letting people bring pets to work?

If you have a dog that you care about, you will want to go home from time to time to check up on the well-being of the dog. However, if the pet is in the office, then 10-hour, 12-hour or longer days stop being an issue. You can just walk over to your dog to check up on them whenever you want to.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#16

Post by coldnose »

cpersona wrote: post #2

I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.

I'm uncomfortable around (and supremely irritated by) human babies, but it's pretty common to let people bring their awful babies into an office. Those babies don't work here, and they have no business being here, but I guess human parents feel they have some legitimate reason to bring them to work. In a fair world, I don't see how dogs are any different.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#17

Post by rajacombinator »

throwawaydog wrote: post #7
ecspike wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a dog policy at my work but you have to house the pet in a specified meeting room and only move it when in transit to walk the dog or leave. That also means that there's generally a limit of one dog at a time. We also had someone who loved dogs but was deathly allergic. Like everyone said, talk to HR. They will figure something out.

Thanks, sounds like just bringing it up would be fine (and hopefully doesn't end up labling me a dog hater!). The whole pets policy seems crazy to me, what's to stop me bringing my SO to work because I enjoy her company. Do you think it's just convenient for the owner, or is there something behind letting people bring pets to work?

You should work on understanding others if you expect to be understood by them! Calling the policy "crazy" won't help advance discussion.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#18

Post by delecti »

Torgo wrote: post #12
cpersona wrote: post #2

I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.

Having a phobia is by definition not reasonable.

That's true, but accommodating a phobia very well could be. It's not like OP has a phobia of keyboards.

Re: Ask HN: Office merge. They have a pet policy. I'm scared of dogs. What can I do?

#19

Post by delecti »

pcunite wrote: post #14
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is horrible and immoral advice. Disagreeing, complaining, and litigating are one thing. Deliberately falsifying a situation is quite another. This is of course leaving aside the fact that the course of action you suggest could easily lead to a life being taken. It is impossible for me to courteously describe how appalled I am at your advice.

Sigh ... it is humor.

Maybe an attempt at it.
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