Vest of dog hair repels a potential employer
Today’s tip on how not to find a job comes via a query to The Dog Lady, that purveyor of canine wisdom whose column appears in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
(For other tips on how not to find a job, send me $29.99 and a self-addressed stamped envelope, and then another $29.99, followed by a third and final payment of $29.99.)
But back to The Dog Lady. (That’s not her in the photo; it’s a woman in Montana who knits with dog hair.)
A reader wrote the following to The Dog Lady:
“As a small-business owner, I recently was looking to hire a counter clerk with some technical know-how. I had quite a few applicants, including a woman I was keen to employ. In the second interview, however, she arrived wearing a striking wool vest, which she said she had knitted from the fur of her Bernese mountain dog.
This led to a long discussion of how she collected the sloughed dog fur, sent it away to be spun into yarn and knitted the sweater. It was too much information and kind of disgusted me. I ended up not hiring her and have felt guilty ever since. What’s your take on people who knit their pet? — Amy
The Dog Lady, aka Monica Collins, notes that people who make clothing from the sheddings of their dog may be perceived as eccentric — even though it’s really not that different from clothing made from the harvested fur of sheep.
Dog Lady, who refers to herself in the third person, says she personally ”cannot imagine wearing a garment knit from the hair of her dog.” But she gives the knitter points for inventiveness — even if the dog hair vest might not be included in most “what to wear for a job interview” tipsheets.
And she tells the letter writer: “As a business owner, you are free to hire whom you choose. And in this free country, there are no laws on the books pertaining to those who discriminate against people who wear dog hair couture to the workplace.”
Being an expert on unemployment, if not dogs, and having addressed this issue before, I would add this. Knitting clothing items from dog hair — though a lot of work — isn’t that new or unusual. Wearing them is not really all that freakish.
But given the country’s job situation, it might be best to wait on wearing fashions made from Fido, at least until you get the job, and it’s Bring Your Dog to Work Day.
(Photo: Larry Beckner / Great Falls Tribune)
Posted by jwoestendiek June 8th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: advice, animals, applicants, attire, bernese mountain dog, bizarre, cleveland plain dealer, clothing, column, dog, dogs, eccentric, employers, employment, etiquette, fur, hair, how-to, impressions, job seeking, jobs, knit, knitters, knitting, monica collins, pets, proper, seeking, sheddings, sweaters, the dog lady, vests, yarn
Comments
Comment from S.H.
Time June 13, 2012 at 5:20 pm
[P.S. Angora comes from the angora rabbit. The angora goat produces mohair.]
Sheep, goats, lambs, camels, rabbits, alpacas, yaks and many other animals produce either hair or soft underhair that is cleaned, carded and spun into yarn, which is then knit into clothing that we actually wear!
Repeat after me: yarn is yarn is yarn….
Comment from Linda Hurt
Time June 14, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Several people have tried to hire me to spin their dog hair into yarn. It’s very common place. No one thinks twice about wearing sweaters made from sheep, alpaca, angora rabbit, or chasmere or mohair goat. In fact, they are willing to pay a hefty price for some of it. So what’s the difference? The problem with the interview might have been that it got too personal too quickly, and the idea of knitting with dog hair was just too new to the interviewer. It is best to take the conservative approach when going to most interviews.
Comment from S.H.
Time June 13, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Good grief, what’s the big deal? We have an Alaskan Malamute in our family who sheds several green garbage bags full of gloriously-soft undercoat twice a year. It’s as soft as silk and pure white to boot!
Every time I look at that wonderful raw material being dumped out with the garbage, I think what a shame it is that it isn’t put to some good use. Certainly the animal doesn’t miss it, and it harms no one to harvest it. If it didn’t cost so much to have it processed into yarn, I’d do it myself!
Where does that store owner think angora comes from, anyway?