Wednesday, November 21, 2007

dog in the office

Do people ever bring dogs into your office? They do to mine. I walked in today & was greeted by a a big, fluffy, husky type dog with a gender ambiguous name. I was unperturbed, though, as bringing dogs to work was also considered "cool" at my previous place of employment.

I've never cared much either way about the issue: I am a "dog person", and have an intrinsic affinity for most dogs, especially it they are fluffy and big. When people bring fluffy, big dogs into the office, it makes me happy. I am willing to tolerate even small hairless dogs in the office, too, so long as they are quiet and well behaved. I feel the same way about children.

That said, having dogs in the workplace is probably considered most unprofessional by traditional standards. Like wearing jeans and sneakers to work, or hats of any kind indoors. On the one hand, times have changed: suits and ties are de rigeur in only the most formal office settings. On the other hand, what exactly are you supposed to say to a when a dog starts barking incessantly in the background during a business call? It's embarrassing, and it used to happen in my former workplace. The same dog also used the editorial department as it's personal litter box, which was even less cool. And since he belonged to the BIG boss, we were left with no choice but to grin and bear it. But that's another story...

My question is, how does one determine it's "Dog Day" in the office? Is it a "casual Friday" thing? Or a "casual day-before-a-holiday" thing? Is the rule, "I get to wear jeans, so my dog gets to go to work", thereby likening the dog to your jeans? And what happens if your workplace is always casual? Does that make every day "Dog Day"?

Thoughts?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

there are often dogs at my work. and jeans. and mohawks. i love dogs. but not at my work. In portland people bring their dogs EVERYWHERE! I think its annoying and disrespectful to those who are afraid of dogs, allergic, what have you. But mostly I am uncomfortable with it as I do not know the temperment of the dog and the amount control the dog owner has.

Anonymous said...

I wear jeans and sneakers to work more often than not. It's what I love about where I work. However, if we have outside visitors or a shareholders meeting, than I do don a business appropriate outfit. I've never had to deal with dogs in the office, though...