In IT Services change and learning are part of our everyday routine. This message is to fill you in on one upcoming change that may provide an opportunity for many of us to act and think a bit differently.
You may have heard that the telephone operators, Naomi Cole and Brenda Stearns, will be taking on responsibilities for front office coverage in Hoyt. Right now they will be coming upstairs only when they are scheduled to cover the front desk, but eventually their offices will move to the third floor.
Where is the learning part of this, you may reasonably ask. Naomi is supported by her service dog, Rhu. As many of us will have the potential to interact with Naomi and Rhu, Naomi wants to avoid surprising her colleagues who may not be accustomed to service dogs in the workplace.
This presents an opportunity for all of us to learn appropriate service-dog etiquette. For example, did you know that you should not pet or ask to pet a service dog when it is working? And, that you can tell that a dog is “on duty” because it will be wearing a special vest that identifies its profession?
If you are interested in learning more about acceptable behavior around service dogs, here are a couple of online resources:
- Norwegian Association for the Blind shows how NOT to interact with service animals. This short video is humorous, but has a good message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXpXlc0a028
- For a more serious set of guidelines, see the website of the International Association of Canine Professionals: http://www.canineprofessionals.com/service-dog-etiquette
So welcome Naomi and Brenda to their new roles at the Hoyt front desk, but save any greetings for Rhu until an appropriate time.