Dog Gone It

A friend directed me to this NYTimes article because it deals with an issue that has arisen in another context of late.

In a piece entitled Who Invited the Dog?, the Times explores the increasingly frequent situation where dog owners have adopted the bad habits of parents with young children. Like those parents who feel that they can bring their infants everywhere -- invited or not -- some dog owners have likewise felt the need to come with pet in hand. The results are not always a wag of the tail, followed by a puppy treat. As the Times article notes:

Difficult guests are no longer limited to humans. The boundaries between humans and animals have been so eaten away by pet therapists, pet designer outfits and pet bar mitzvahs, that it has reached a point where devoted owners, who treat their animals as privileged children, lose all perspective on the pet’s role in their social lives.

More American households have pets than ever — 68.7 million of them in 2006, according to a new survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association, up 12.4 percent from 2001.

Among dog owners, 53.5 percent considered their pets to be members of the family, the survey found. For cats, the number was 49.2 percent.

In one incident mentioned in the article, family members ended up on non-speaking terms for several months over a family holiday visit. The pet owners who traveled home for the holidays seemed put out when the brother's fiancee was allergic to the dog. In order to head off the inevitable upcoming holiday pet mayhem, the piece is devoted to a guide for owners and hosts alike.

I grew up in a pet-free family. Interestingly, now that we are all adults, my siblings and I have pets, mostly due to the influence of spouses and children. Although I've never been particularly comfortable around dogs (having been bitten by a stray dog when I was younger), somehow our dog Ginger has managed to become "my dog" (as she sits here beside me while I write this). See also, Oh, Unlucky Day.

However, I'd still be in the "no pets allowed" club when it comes to parties and other events. Ditto for the thumbs down on bring your pet to work policy. The Times had a few pets at the office stories earlier this year, Can Your Dog Humanize the Office?, discussing the popularity of dog days at the office:

A MEMO was sent last month to the 125 employees of Archer Malmo, a marketing agency in Memphis. Titled “Office Dog Etiquette,” it said in part:

“If you bring your dog in, you also need to keep an eye on Spot’s whereabouts during the day. So, having a marathon all-day meeting and having your dog here on the same day probably isn’t advisable. Someone’s Fido got into someone’s office on Friday and pillaged through a private stash of Pop-Tarts. (Yes, if your dog had crumbs on her muzzle, she is the guilty party.)”

Rest assured, dogs are still going to offices throughout the land. Take Your Dog to Work began as a quirk of the dot-com boom — another perk that employers could offer to employees to persuade them to stay.

It had been thought that the patter of paws would go the way of casual Fridays and massages at your desk, but, alas, what has been disappearing instead are salary increases, fully funded pension plans and robust health insurance. The dogs, it seems, are here to stay, based on the volume of e-mail that I receive from readers.

See also, Is Bringing a Dog to the Office a Good Idea?. Dog friendly sites, such as DogFriendly.com, promote the idea of permitting dogs at work, suggesting benefits such as:

- Staff morale and worker productivity increased by bringing pets to work
- Increased camaraderie among employees
- Happier employees result in enhanced job performance

Of course, this is only true if everyone at the office is on board with the concept. Otherwise, morale can instead suffer, it can be divisive and strain relationships among employees. If dogs are allowed to roam the office, it can also interfere with job performance. In fact, shortly after Liza Belkin wrote her piece in the Times, she followed up with Dogs at the Office: Not Always So Cute, saying:

I often write about children in this space, and no one has ever sent me a photo of their baby. I write about dogs at work once, and now I have a gallery.

There was another kind of mail last week, no photos attached. Few complete names either, because the writers were sharing thoughts that they feared could hurt them at work — namely, that they don’t think pets belong at the office. “You can’t use my name because then I’ll be known as the one who hates dogs,” one anonymous caller told my voice mail. “I don’t hate dogs. I love dogs; I grew up with a sheepdog. But it just seems unprofessional.”

Many who contacted me described their allergies.

* * * *

Others objected to the smells, noise and mess that come with animals.

“On a recent Monday,” one reader wrote, “I began my workweek with the discovery that a dog had defecated under my desk. When I tracked down the pooch’s owner, she informed me that her pet had wandered off while she was working in the building over the weekend. I own a dog myself, love my furry friend, but wouldn’t dream of bringing her to the office. It’s highly inappropriate for a business setting.”

A few acknowledged out-and-out fear.

“My boss thinks his Shepherd is the sweetest thing in the world,” another wrote. “But I have always been nervous around dogs, and I have to take a deep breath every time I walk past the copy room, where Killer (not his real name) spends most of his day, because I have visions of the creature jumping out at me.”

There are employees who fight back, but they are rare, and even when the workers win, they are reluctant to use their names.

Pictured above is Ginger -- at home, where she belongs.