UPDATE: Whoops. Looks like this story was a stab at satire by CBC. Why would a legitimate news source have a satire section under it’s banner? We may never know.
Compared to the United States, Canada has extremely generous maternity leave laws. Whereas here, employers are only required to give new mothers 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, an issue John Oliver recently took to task. In Canada, new mothers can take anywhere between 17 and 52 weeks of compensated leave, depending on employment length and hours worked.
One Ontario woman, however, Trish Lemierre, is trying to take advantage of Canada’s generous maternity leave, and is suing her employer for refusing her paid leave because she adopted a — wait for it — 6-week-old Bichon Frise puppy. Lemierre claims to have legitimate reasons, though.
“I want my 40 weeks, just like any other mother.”
“Taking care of a puppy is a full-time job, and if I am not there for every moment in the first year of its life, I have failed as a parent,” says Lemierre.
When asked if she thought puppies and babies were different, Ms. Lemierre responded: “Absolutely not! A puppy is a baby, a dog baby. I deserve the time to bond with my newborn, too!”
No. A puppy is not your baby. While I contend that puppies are probably easier to house train when an owner is around all the time, that’s why you, say, adopt an older dog, which is probably also in a greater need of a home than a f*cking puppy.
Listen, I have pets. I love my pets. But the reason I’m a pet owner and not a parent is because pets are great and all, but they don’t require constant attention the way a small child does. For example, are you able to enjoy a relaxing dump without your pet accompanying you? Okay, bad example. I still hope this lady’s lawsuit tanks, though.
(Via CBC)