The New York Times had an article the other week about a company in Minneapolis offering “fur-ternity” leave for new pet “owners.” The New York Times remarked at how cutting edge this benefit was and implied how hip and cool it must be to work at this company.
Let’s start with the glaringly obvious problem with this article: if you are taking “fur-terninty” leave there is no way in NYC that you are a pet “owner;” you are most definitely a pet “parent.” I’m not sure which editor at the Times reviewed this but they are clearly not a pet parent, or they got advice from some corporate lawyer who said that pets are chattel so you “own” them you don’t “parent” them. Sorry, NYT, you missed the boat on this one.
Second, this is not new news to the counselors at Pet Camp.
Everyone at Pet Camp loves pets – it is pretty much the essential prerequisite for working here – and we know that with that love comes all the joys and sorrows associated with it. Since we opened our doors in 1997, we’ve understood that counselors need time off when they adopt a new pet, and while the NYT focused on puppies, we know that when you adopt an adult dog you need time to bond as well. Sadly at the other end of the spectrum, we also know that counselors need the time and space to grieve the loss of a pet. We’ve scrambled to cover shifts when a counselor is out because a pet has needed medical attention and of course, every counselor can bring a pet with them to work every day. We did notice this “cool” company let you work at home to be with your pet, but doesn’t let you bring your pet to work with you.
So, NYT, as much as I love seeing that blue plastic bag on my stairs every morning, next time you want to run a story about companies and pet parents, give us a call and we’ll give you an exclusive.
Thanks for reading.