[nagdu] What I plan to say to my boss tomorrow...

[Daryl Marie]

Hi, guys,
I am a much better writer than spoken word communicator, so figured I would put down my thoughts here and you can tell me what you think.  I plan on talking with my boss tomorrow, and thought I would write down my thoughts.

Good morning, Peter (name changed),
I've spent a lot of this weekend thinking about what you asked of me on Friday, about not bringing Jenny to the staff meeting today while the CEO is in town.  You flat-out told me it was because of Hannah's (name changed) being terrified of Jenny, even from across the room.  I've decided not to bring Jenny to this particular meeting (and this meeting only) - not because you have requested this of me, but because there is no particular need for her to be at the meeting.  She will not be guiding me to the meeting, will simply lay there during the talk, and there is no need for the company CEO to think less of Hannah's professionalism because she's sitting there looking terrified at a sleeping dog across the room from her.

That having been said, on a personal level, your request has troubled me greatly.  In effect, by making it, you have said that I, with my disability, am not invited to the meeting.  You would never consider asking someone to leave their crutches, glasses or wheelchair behind because someone is scared, so why must I be singled out?  I cannot change the fact that I can't see and use a dog to navigate the world safely; Hannah can choose, at least on some level, to understand that my dog will not hurt her when she is sleeping.  We have someone with allergies in this office, and he has never once asked me to make concessions for him, so why does fear trump medical allergies?

I don't want to make this a bigger deal than it actually is.  I respect you as a supervisor and a manager in this office, and I know that even as you requested this of me you felt incredibly uneasy and awkward about doing so.  At this point, Hannah has requested that I not take Jenny into the washroom when I go (a decision I probably would've reached on my own), and I have no problem with this, but that is the only concession I plan to make consistently.  If I can do anything to assist Hannah with her fear of dogs, I would be more than happy to do so.  But simply not bringing Jenny around any time Hannah is going to be somewhere is not a workable solution.

Thanks.

Daryl