Pets in the Workplace

System · March 2012

I was walking my dog around the downtown square last week and went past a women's clothing shop that had a handwritten sign in the window, "Dogs Welcome." It was the first time I've seen that. The local sewing machine store also has a dog in residence who greets everyone who comes in and everyone seems to like it. Do any of you allow pets in the workplace and what kind of experiences have you had?

joannie · March 2012

We don't allow pets in the workplace. In fact, we hired a driver last Monday, who quit on Tuesday, because we wouldn't let him take his dog with him in the truck. However, I was in Telluride, Colorado last summer and quite a few of the businesses allowed pets.

NaeNae55 · March 2012

I know more and more places are allowing pets at work. We don't do so here. Not everyone is a pet lover, and some people really hate the hair or have allergies.

Personally, I would LOVE to bring one of my pets to work with me. I think animals keep you grounded while still managing to make you feel like you really matter. There are plenty of days where it would be nice if I had to leave the office a minute to take my dog out. I am certain on those days I would be much healthier for the little break.

cnghr · March 2012

We don't allow pets here, either. Last year we had an employee who started bringing her "teacup" size dog to work in one of the little carrying cases that looks like a purse. She got away with it for a couple of weeks, until she went to a meeting with her supervisor and her purse started barking! The supervisor came to me and asked if it was okay, and I said no, so she told the employee and the employee put in her notice on the spot. She came back the next day and said that she wasn't going to quit, so at least she didn't give up a good, long-term job just because she couldn't bring her dog to work.

Personally, it would be stressful for me to bring my dog to work, but that is because my dog is a 95-pound husky/lab mix who, at age 2.5, is still very puppyish in a lot of her behaviors. She's very much a daddy's girl and constantly tries to challenge me for the position of alpha female in our little pack so having her here would be a real exercise in insanity!

NaeNae55 · March 2012

[QUOTE=cnghr;723762]Personally, it would be stressful for me to bring my dog to work, but that is because my dog is a 95-pound husky/lab mix who, at age 2.5, is still very puppyish in a lot of her behaviors. She's very much a daddy's girl and constantly tries to challenge me for the position of alpha female in our little pack so having her here would be a real exercise in insanity![/QUOTE]

Maybe so, but I bet you would increase your alpha standing pretty quickly.

System · March 2012

I've seen it more and more, too. While the dog and I were walking and saw the Dogs Welcome sign, when we went past a local diner there was a big dog water bowl outside next to a bench on the sidewalk. Living downtown there are a lot of people walking their dogs in the area and the local businesses seem to like the foot traffic it creates and are finding ways to encourage it and allow people to incorporate a little shopping into their dog walking.

jdarrough · March 2012

My current office doesn't allow them and I'm grateful. I suffer from pretty severe allergies and I used to work for an office that allowed pets. Animals seem to zero in on those of us with allergies, like they have radar for it. The worst was two adorable kittens who took a shine to me and decided to hang out on my desk and kept jumping on my shoulders during phone calls. One jumped up and bit me for attention. I accidentally kind of shrieked in the caller's ear, which didn't make any points for professionalism. My boss at that office also brought in her dog and he loved to lay by my chair. Besides reducing me to one big hive by the end of the day, I once accidentally backed up, forgetting he was there, and rolled over part of his paw with my chair. He shrieked and my boss was ticked off at me for about two weeks. ( I felt terrible, as well. The dog, however, was just fine after about 60 seconds.) We also had a standard poodle who used to go around stealing unattended food off people's desks. The kicker was when one employee brought his snake to work. No, I'm NOT kidding about that! My boss, who let her dog give me hives and itchy eyes for years, promptly nixed the pets at work idea, due to her fear of snakes. If pets are allowed at work, I'd suggest some rules and regulations on what kind and how they are to be managed. I.e. no wandering around unattended (or slithering),no jumping on employees or customers, removing loud pets, and cautions against biters, etc. and rules that any "accidents" must not only be attended to promptly, but santized as well.

People without allergies think it's not a problem if they keep their pets away from those of us who are allergic, but the hair and dander still linger everywhere. My problem is that I LIKE the pets too much and can't resist petting them, and cause my own problems. There are businesses around my town that I won't frequent because I don't want to be greeted at the door by the resident jumping, crotch sniffing dog.

Oh, and at another office where I once worked we had a mouse in an aquarium. The boss' kid took it out and put it on an employee's head one day to be funny. She shrieked and spilled her coffee all over her keyboard, ruining it. She refused to pay for a new keyboard, and rightly so, in my opinion.

NaeNae55 · March 2012

jdarrough:

Sounds like you got the worst of it at your previous employer. I absolutely agree that if there are pets there should be rules. Animals should have limited areas, and those that break rules (accidents, barking, biting and fighting with other pets) should be banned from the premises. Pets at work is an idea to promote unity and a better work atmosphere. When animals annoy or harm people, they add to discord instead of the other way around. Rules and types of pets allowed should be spelled out, just like any other work policies.

Pets in the Workplace

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