Occasionally I meet with students at work who have their own service/guide dog. Rather than trying to manage two dogs in my smallish office I usually relocate Morey to somewhere else during our meeting (I have a number of co-workers to fight over the privilege of hosting Morey in their offices!).
The other day I had a potential blind student and his parents and guide dog Duffy who were visiting from Canada. I moved Morey into a co-worker's office who had gone home for the day and told him to "stay" before shutting the door and inviting the student and his family back to my office. I informed the family that I had a service dog so they knew why Duffy immediately started sniffing the floor when he laid down in my office.
They had the usual questions about academic accommodations, getting around Austin, etc. The student also wanted to know about surviving the heat with Duffy. Where he lives they get tons of snow but not as many hot days. I explained about being careful about the pavement getting too hot for their paws and the options of putting boots on them (which Morey hated).
At the end of the meeting the mom gave me a hug. Sending your child to another country to study is a big step and there are even more considerations when your child has a disability. I was glad I could help them feel more confident about the supports and access they have available at UT!
After they left I brought Morey back to my office and he immediately began sniffing the spot where Duffy had been laying. He kept looking up at me like "why did you let another dog in here"? I assured him our relationship had been strictly professional and that if the student chooses to come to UT he might get to meet Duffy himself!
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