Working like a dog
Take dog to work day promotes pet ownership

Take Dog to Work Day promotes pet ownership. Carmelita is one happy dog. Instead of having to spend her days alone at home, the 6-month-old Havanese has found gainful employment perfectly suited for her personality. Carmelita is the official greeter for the Travel Network located in the Hamilton Building in downtown Wichita Falls. Her owner, Gail White, is among a growing number of American pet owners who are taking their pets to work. According to White, having her little dog in the office brightens the whole day. White said that customers enjoy petting Carmelita as they discuss their vacation plans.
According to the American Animal Hospital Association's survey of 1,189 pet owners in the United States and Canada, 28 percent of those surveyed do take their pets to work. Friday has been declared "National Take Your Dog To Work Day," which is sponsored by Pet Sitters International, Iams Co. and other companies nationwide. These companies anticipate that this special day will call attention to the plight of homeless cats and dogs in this country. Each year millions of dogs are relinquished to animal shelters across the nation. Up to 60 percent of them are euthanized because of overcrowded shelters and the low number of adoptions. By taking their well-mannered dogs to work, dog owners can show that dogs make great companions and hopefully encourage co-workers to adopt a homeless dog from a local humane society or animal shelter. That's what "Take Your Dog To Work Day" is all about.
If you are interested in taking your dog to work on this day, plan ahead. Take Your Dog To Work Day action packs can be downloaded from the PSI Web page or can be obtained at the following locations: The Times Record News information desk, Petco and Colonial Park Animal Hospital on Taft Street. Action Packs are also available at the Call Field Companion Animal Clinic and the Animal Hospital on Holliday Road. This action pack includes helpful hints on how to have a safe and successful day. Also in this pack is a "doggie job description" for owners to fill out and submit to PSI for a chance to have their dog become next year's poster dog for National Take Your Dog To Work Day.
Here are a few "pet-iquette" tips to help you and your four-footed coworkers enjoy their time on the job.

• Dogs should not limit, restrict or disrupt their human coworkers' ability to perform their job responsibilities.
• Dogs must be housebroken, healthy and well socialized prior to coming to the office.
• Employees are responsible for all doggie clean-up duties, both indoors and outside the office building.
• Dogs must be accompanied by a human companion at all times and kept with the employee or confined within the individual's work area. (Closed office doors are not always an acceptable means of confinement, so don't forget to bring a child-gate with you.)
• Dogs must be on a leash in all common areas.
• Employees are responsible for working a normal workday even when dogs accompany them to work.
  

Teach your dog a new trick, and he's sure to be a hit.
OK, so now you are all fired up about taking Rover into work with you on Friday. But how do you convince the boss to go along with the plan? According to the 2000 American Pet Products Manufacturers Association Survey of companies and businesses that allow pets in the workplace, 73 percent of companies surveyed said that pets create a more productive and creative work environment. These same companies showed a 27-percent decrease in employee absenteeism. The majority of these companies, 96 percent, said pets create positive work relationships. And 58 percent of employees stayed late with pets in the office. Figures like these should win over the toughest of bosses. And if he is still not convinced, tell him that you will let him play fetch with your dog.