Created by Pet Sitters International in 1999, Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWD) celebrates the amazing companions that our fluffy pooches are while also hoping to stimulate pet adoptions. PSI has selected the Friday immediately following Father’s Day to be dedicated as TYDTWD aka today.
Why should we be limited to taking our dogs to work only once each year, though?
Pets are absolutely amazing and have health benefits, too. Dogs can reduce stress and anxiety by providing comfort, amusement, and the euphoria we all feel just by looking at adorable animals.
The breaks needed to walk dogs and care for them not only promotes healthier living through exercise (HR’s dream to reducing insurance costs), but also can increase productivity by allowing employees to have short “brain breaks” to recharge and get some fresh air that isn’t killing their lungs. The best part of bringing pets to work, of course, is that they aren’t alone at home all day, locked in a kennel or out in the forces of nature for hours on end.
I have personally seen the benefits of dogs in the workplace with my therapist. Her wonderful poodle, Denver, faithfully attends sessions throughout the week. It’s wonderful to have Denver around to provide comfort when I, or my extremely empathetic therapist, need it. He never refuses allowing you to pet him, and he’s even come to me a few times during sessions. The dog can also provide brief distraction when you need to get out of something heavy, and he can do some seriously amusing things as he calmly sits through a session. Everyone I’ve told about Denver thinks having a dog at work would be amazing, even my own boss.
Although we all can’t have a Denver that we bring to work with us every day, there are numerous ways we can make the magic of having a pet at work happen for us. We can promote celebrating Take Your Dog To Work Day. We can also consider having adoption events or volunteer days for work at a local shelter. If you are a manager or supervisor, you may even consider offering a “Pet Day” as a reward or incentive much like a “Casual Day” or “Hat Day.” If all else fails and having a furry friend just isn’t going to fly at your workplace and you don’t already have your own companion, consider taking a trip to a local shelter this weekend and save an animal’s (and maybe your own) life.
Photo by Pete Bellis on Unsplash
