Employee grieving his dog’s sudden death asked his boss for time off — instead of compassion, he got a cold lecture on ‘planning ahead’

It’s unclear if the boss expected him to predict his dog’s sudden death or just finish all tasks the day before.

PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

(L) A sad man holding a dog collar. (R) A boss shouting at his employee. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Solovyova, (R) fizkes)

Losing a pet can be just as painful as losing a family member. After suffering the sudden loss of his dog, a man reached out to his employer to ask for a day off to grieve. What he hoped would be met with basic understanding turned into a frustrating exchange that left him feeling dismissed. He later posted his experience on the subreddit r/antiwork, under Reddit handle u/kpay10, with screenshots of the texts he received from his boss.

A man is crying while wiping his face. Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock Project — A man is crying while wiping his face. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock Project)

As reported by Your Tango, the night his dog passed away, he messaged one of his managers to explain the situation and ask for the following day off. After a long silence, the response he finally received from his boss was anything but supportive. “Next time you need a day off on short notice [sic] due to your dog dying, sorry, but this is why you have to start prepping the day before,” the boss wrote in the messages.

A man hugging a dog (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Alena Darmel) — A man hugging a dog. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Alena Darmel)

The message left many confused and upset. It’s unclear whether the boss expected the man to somehow prepare in advance for his dog’s sudden death or simply meant he should have done more to finish his tasks the day before. The boss went on to complain that the team was now short-handed and overwhelmed. “Now we’re sacrificing staying, doing extra of your job, and you know how short-staffed we are [sic],” the text continued. He also pointed out that the man hadn’t mentioned anything the previous day, adding, “We were here the whole time yesterday and you never said anything or discussed it [sic].”

Broken with grief female dog grieving owner holding the lovely pet collar and deep weeping about animal loss.(Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Solovyova) — Broken with grief female dog grieving owner holding the lovely pet collar and deep weeping about animal loss. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Solovyova)

To make matters worse, the boss ended by saying he had to cancel his daughter’s appointment in order to cover the employee’s shift. The screenshots further showed the manager adding immense pressure on the man, stating, "So you have to come in, no matter what." While the man did not respond publicly to that part, the post quickly gained traction, with many Reddit users weighing in. One Reddit user shared, "Short staffing is never the employee's problem or fault. Employees don't do the hiring."

My dog unexpectedly died and I asked my manager for the day off
byu/kpay10 inantiwork

u/kx____ suggested, "Always call in sick in the morning. Don’t ever try to explain anything to your manager or anyone at the company. Just say I am very sick and can’t come in. Don’t even explain what your illness is." u/Lemon-Otherwise shared their personal experience, "I had an employee leave suddenly because her father passed away. She needed bereavement leave, and the human resources professional said that next time she needed to be notified before." u/vaxxed_beck commented, "I had to put my cat down and I called in sick to do it. I literally did not care if I still had a job after losing my buddy. Surprisingly, my creepy manager was sympathetic when I told her." u/Lets_Bust_Together wrote, "I just lost my kitty and said I had a death in the family."