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

[Applebutter Hill]

Daryl,
Great job in putting this in writing. I'd suggest submitting it to your boss
subsequent to the meeting. That way, you go on record in case there are
issues in the future.
Donna & Hunter

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daryl Marie via
nagdu
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2015 11:01 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Daryl Marie
Subject: [nagdu] What I plan to say to my boss tomorrow...

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
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