The Office Puppy

As part of my program at George Brown College, I recently finished an internship at a members-only home décor and furniture website. I worked closely with the buying and merchandising team to co-ordinate and set up the daily sales events held on the company website. During my time there I met an amazing group of people, who happened to be animal lovers just like myself.

Steph was my go-to person at the office, in fact she was everyone’s go-to person because she is a wiz with numbers and the nicest person I have met. We happen to stumble across the conversation of dogs one day and she shared with me that her mom volunteers with a local rescue and adoption organization called ARF Ontario. (Stay tuned for the ARF Ontario posts, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to hear about the organization from the volunteers themselves.)

 Before I knew it 'puppy talk' became a daily topic of conversation, Sarah (an extremely talented writer and the wittiest person I know) quickly joined, followed by George (a fellow George Brown intern and friend) who was also a fan of dogs.

Often during our breaks, we would scour  the web to find dogs up for adoption and gush over how adorable and cute they were. Our go to websites became Pet Finder, ARF Ontario, THS, and Ugly Mutts. The inception of the 'office puppy' soon followed.

We began fantasizing about having a dog in the office, especially on those stressful days when things weren’t exactly going as planned. This hypothetical 'office puppy' made such a difference to our team's mood and morale, that I can see why pets are used for therapy. We weren't seriously considering getting a dog for the office, but it certainly made us chuckle at the idea.

Fido at the Office

Interesting enough there are many companies that allow employees to bring their pets to work. According to a 2011 article published in The Sydney Morning Harold, “In the US its been an established practice for years, with an estimated 17 per cent of business permitting animals and a national Take Your Dog to Work Day®”

Take Your Dog to Work Day® is happening Friday June 21^st2013 and it’s an event to promote and encourage adoption. It goes without saying that not every company or industry is suitable to have such practices - however it's a fantastic way to promote adoption to those considering a pet.

Looking back Sarah, Steph, George and I had our own version of this event in our office through our 'puppy talks' and 'office puppy' chats. Towards the end of my internship, I was even having 'kitty chats' with Michelle (Our online production artist extraordinaire) and Cindy (Logistics/customer service/office manager mastermind). Our love for animals was definitely one of the reasons why we bonded, and why we worked so well as a team.

I want to thank Steph and Sarah for taking me under their wings in the time I was there, I learned a great deal about the business and enhanced my skills thanks to them.

Steph, Sarah, George, Michelle and Cindy thank you for such an amazing experience - you guys fueled my passion to help our furry friends and Furever Pals is my way of continuing the conversation we began on animal rescue and adoption and sharing it with the rest of the world!

 

 

Check out this 'office puppy'