We have all heard of Mothers Day, Fathers Day and even Secretary’s Day but have you ever heard of Take Your Dog to Work Day? Take Your Dog to Work Day, abbreviated TYDTWDay was introduced in 1999 by Pet Sitters International, the world’s largest association for pet sitters, representing over 8,000 independent professional pet sitting businesses in the United States, Canada and abroad. The event is being held on Friday June 20 of this year. Last year its estimated
that over 10,000 companies in the United States and Canada opened their doors to employees’ dogs during this event last June. The event was created to celebrate what good companions the dog makes and to encourage adoptions from rescues, animal shelters and human societies. Every year the list of major companies participating seems to grow. Companies such as Google, Amazon.com and Advent are opening their doors to our four legged companions.
Why bring your dog to work you may ask, well for starters the dog has a calming and soothing effect on humans. Studies have shown that people who own pets, or who are around them frequently are less stressed, happier and generally more positively productive than those without animals in their lives. Advocates of the annual event say that allowing pets in the workplace is a growing trend because the presence of a pet can be beneficial to the company as well the pet owner. More and more companies are looking into the policy because they improve staff morale and encourage employees to work longer hours because they would not have to worry about getting home to let their dog out.
How can you get your business to participate? Start with organizing an event, ask your boss if he or she would consider hosting the idea and if there are any objections from fellow co-workers. Some may be allergic to pets and if that is the case then an alternative plan is to have the staff bring photos of their pets to share and place on desks for others to see and comment on. Another thing you can do is to partner with a shelter by asking them to bring adoptable pets or information on adoption opportunities to your business to help promote the concept of adopting from local shelters.
If you find yourself needing help with planning a Take Your Dog to Work Day, ask a professional pet sitter to help. May pet sitters are willing to volunteer their time to help coordinate the event. You can use Pet Sitters International locator (www.petsit.com) to find a local participating member in your area.
Submitted by Erika Allis, owner of The Pet Patrol, a pet sitting company based in Eastvale, California www.thepetpatrol.com
