Pets in the Workplace?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

09 Feb 2006 10:47 AM

When I lived in Vermont, I did the morning shift on a radio station. That means I showed up for work around five am and went on the air at 5:30. I was the only person at the station until the sales staff started showing up around 8:30 am.

Let me tell you... that building was dark and scary at five o'clock in the morning! But because I worked for a small company (there were three people on the on-air staff and three salespeople plus a receptionist and a general manager) I asked if I could bring my dog with me to work in the mornings.

My Miko wasn't an especially protective dog, but he was a big dog with a big voice. That was enough to intimidate any listeners who visited the office once we were officially open at nine. And he was perfectly content to curl up underneath the soundboard while I was on the air. I kept a few treats and a small water dish at the office, and it was a great arrangement. Once my shift was done, I would take Miko home, grab a bite to eat, and come back to the station to help schedule the music and work on commercials.

In my perfect world, I would bring my dogs to work with me every day! But... they would also need to be nearly perfect in the obedience department. Unless your pet spends the day in their crate, they need to be flawless at Sit, Down, and Stay. They can't be too skittish OR too friendly with strangers. Because it is, after all, Work time -- not Play With Your Pet time.

And to be honest, I don't know how much work I would get done if everybody else brought their pets to work! Unless my job was "Chief Executive in Charge of Animal Entertainment" or something. That's a job I'd be REALLY good at.

Is anybody hiring an Executive Tummy Rubber?

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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