I Could Not Make This Up

At the company I work for, if an employee needs to take more than 14 consecutive days off work, he/she must formally apply for a leave of absence.  So, for example, if a person is taking a 3-week vacation-- gotta apply for a leave.  Having surgery that will require a month or two of recovery time?  Gotta apply for a leave.

As an Area Director and now as a Senior Director, I have to review all employee requests for LOA's.  That means over the years I have seen a lot of them.  Most of the requests I have seen are either related to a medical situation or employees who are traveling out of the country.  A couple weeks ago, however, I reviewed a request for a leave of absence for a reason that, in almost a decade with the organization, I had never seen before.  Here is an exact quote from the employee's leave of absence paperwork in the section that asks the employee to explain why the leave is needed.

"I will be taking my goats to show at fairs in Wisconsin and Illinois." 

Taking a leave of absence to show goats at fairs.  Just when I thought I had seen and heard it all.

What is my mantra?  (Say it with me now.....)

Only in Wisconsin.

(How did I end up in this place??)