Jobs and dogs

I am currently looking for work, around 16 -30 hours a week, but with Wednesday nights and some Sundays off - due to commitments I have with Louie.

It's reasonable right?

The trouble is that I found the perfect job and I even said I could give up the Sunday commitment and rearrange it for when I was free and I was told I would be getting a call back - nothing - not heard a thing.

And on top of it all, my FIL has royally p*ssed me off saying I should just think of myself. To which I replied - I have a commitment to Louie..

Yet if it was a child, I'll have probably, most likely got the job and my FIL probably wouldn't have said what he did.

Why do people not see that dogs are as much part of me as any child I bear in the future would be. If I got a job with umptine hours a week, no time for Louie and when I had time I'd be too tired - then what would be the point in having him?

Has anyone else been refused or given up a job opportunity because of their dog - or am I the only one?

No but I didn't get a job once because I am a Christian and didn't want to work Sundays.

Trouble is now that it's an employer's market in a recession so they can pick and choose and not have to be accommodating.

I hope you find the right job for you (and Louie!)

You're not alone hun. I was offered a fantastic job in Leeds a few years ago but turned it down as it would have meant travelling and therefore I would not be able to get home and spend my lunch-hour with my babies

If you do not mind me asking, what precisely is your commitment to your dog on Wednesday and Sunday?


What do you do with the rest of the time as you are only looking for part time work?

Why can you not spend time with your dog and work part time or even full time?

I work a full time job which is not 9 - 5 or Monday - Friday and yet find time for my two dogs, so what is the problem exactly?

What is special about Wednesday and Sunday?

As an employer I want to find someone who is committed to work the hours I require, if a person presents themselves with a list of why they cannot do x, y and z then if that does not suit ME the employer, I will look elsewhere.

This is the real world.

I don't really think that you missed out on a job because of your dog - maybe they required the hours to be worked that you didn't want to do ...
There are many things I would like to do, but can't/ won't because of my committments to my pets - but that's my choice.

Jobs are sadly hard to come by these days and I suspect employers have plenty to choose from so would not need to employ someone who had specifics about what hours they would or would not want to work ....

I agree with what you're saying but she said not Wednesday NIGHTS and needs SOME (not all) Sundays off. This doesn't seem unreasonable. My husband works an awful shift pattern full-time but he doesn't work any Sundays now (and when he did it was 1 in 4) and works 2 out of 4 Wednesday nights.

That's what I think too.

I work full time and have 4 dogs - do training class 3 nights a week and long walks and other activities - showing ,working and training at weekends ... it's well possible to fit everything in

Totally agree.

Depends on what flexibility the employer requires. Where I work, the contract is any 5 days from 7.

Employers would be treading on thin ice to refuse someone a job because of their children, but I'm pretty sure there's not really much stopping them from refusing you because of pet commitments, so that may be part of the problem.
We're in a tough job market and I think offering as much as you possibly can is the best way to make yourself appealing. It's not quite "fair" but that's just how things are.