If you take the expression "working like a dog" literally, why not celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day by bringing a favorite canine to the office? Pet Sitters International, an organization of professional pet sitters, has designated June 20 as Take Your Dog to Work Day to encourage petless employees to adopt homeless dogs from animal shelters.
At first, it seemed like a lark; now, companies take the presence of dogs quite seriously year-round. Some even offer perks such as pet health insurance for four-footed family members. Chipotle, for instance, subsidizes $10 per month for each employee’s pet.
For those who’d like to enjoy canine face time in the office one day out of the year, the Take Your Dog to Work Day web site offers registration and information kits to companies interested in participating, as well as a few common-sense pointers (obviously, make sure Fido is housebroken and sociable, and provide a comfy blanket and/or bed so he can lie down comfortably on the job). But more hard-working Americans - especially those in less traditional, more creative fields of enterprise - are lobbying to bring beloved dogs to the office more than just once a year. What’s more, those whose jobs involve daily face time with other people’s dogs (the UPS guy, for instance) are ensuring their workplace popularity by going to work armed with dog treats for spontaneous distribution.
All that’s good for business, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association. An association survey on pets in the workplace revealed that, at offices with a pet on the premises, absenteeism dropped 27 percent, while 58 percent of employees stayed at the office later. What’s more, by lowering stress levels on the job, pets also help increase productivity – always a plus to a savvy manager.
Retail is one field of enterprise that welcomes the daily presence of canine coworkers. At Plaza Florist on New York City’ Park Avenue, customers are charmed by the daily presence of Cody, a giant, fluffy-white Great Pyrenees. Meanwhile, at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, furniture emporium Two Jakes, shoppers enjoy the gentle presence of a mutt named Totie, adopted from the nearby BARC Shelter.
Television is another field where canine employees are bosses’ pets. Ahmad Rashad, host of ABC’s "NBA Access," brings Muttley, his yellow lab, to the office "all the time." Like any TV-studio employee, Muttley has no problem complying with the "Quiet on the set" cue. "And when he’s not on the set, he is usually in my dressing room listening to Miles Davis," Rashad reports.
But the ultimate pet-friendly workplace is Replacements, Ltd. of Greensboro, N.C., which boasts the world’s largest selection of old and new china and crystal. Employees are encouraged to bring dogs to the office with them, so as many as 75 dogs punch in on an average work day. According to Replacements’ owner-founder Bob Page, "Not a single piece of our inventory has ever been damaged by a pet."
