Woman takes maternity leave for puppy: 'peternity'

Tanya Olivia decided that she will be taking maternity leave for her new puppy, Casper. Now, new life is a beautiful thing - something that takes tremendous time and sacrifice. Forgive us, though, if we think maternity leave is normally for raising human babies.

HLN reports, "I believe in making sure every man, woman, child and animal has the best chance in life, and by taking maternity leave for my puppy, he's going to be just a great dog."

Some viewers are likely saying "Amen!" to Tanya Oliva's so-called "peternity" leave while others are probably saying, "It's just a dog ... "

Twitter was buzzing about both sides of the debate, with some users seeing it as a sign of progress, others as the loss of humanity and still others ... seeing their future selves.

Laws in British Columbia, where Oliva lives, allow for up to 17 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Employers are not allowed to fire a worker for requesting it.

But what happens when the new arrival is a pet, not a child?

It turns out there's no labor rights struggle here after all. CTV reports Oliva is simply using her paid vacation days to spend a couple of weeks with her dog, Casper.

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