Welcoming Lucy – Why We Love Having a Pet at Work

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”

– Roger Caras

Have you ever noticed that being around your pet makes you feel better?

Pets, especially dogs, have been scientifically proven to positively impact your mood and general health. It’s no wonder why Rolling Stone’s article, The 100 Best Instagram Accounts lists “@dogsofinstagram” as #14. Or that the eighth most-watched video in YouTube history is the Ultimate Dog Tease. And that when you sign up for a new Reddit account, one of the default subs you’ll automatically start to follow is r/aww, a forum where users share photos, videos, and gifs of adorable animals.

“We found that pet owners, on average, were better off than non-owners, especially when they have a higher-quality relationship with their pets,” says pet researcher and professor of psychology at Miami University, Allen R. McConnell, PhD.

Their wagging tails and sometimes dopey, yet lovable, personalities do more than just put a smile on your face, they can attribute to a healthier heart, soothe stress, help you connect with other people, put you in a generally happier mood, boost immune systems for babies, and offer social support for autistic children.

At Advanta Medica, one of our Web Developers, Christiana, brings her dog, Lucy, into work a few days a week. When we hear the tags on Lucy’s collar jingle outside of the door at the start of a work day, we immediately perk up. Luckily, no one has any allergies, and Lucy coming to work is just as much of a treat for us as it is for her.

Having an energetic, well-behaved canine in the office generally keeps us in a better mood; asking Lucy how she’s doing when we walk past her, and jokingly telling her that if we catch her sleeping on the job again, we’ll have to send her to Human Resources.

Standing at a proud 16 inches, Lucy will jump up to look out the windows to see what’s going on in bustling downtown Haddonfield, New Jersey. After lunch, she’ll curl up under one of our desks with her favorite toy, and we can’t help but look over and say, “Aww!”

With Lucy in the office, we can see why studies by the American Heart Association show “Pets elicit the lowest reactivity to stress”, because we’re nothing but smiles here!

How to allow pets in your workplace

When considering how to allow pets in your workplace, there are a few questions to ask your team and recommendations to help make the transition a positive experience.

Some things to remember when thinking about allowing pets in your workplace include considerations like:

• Does anyone have allergies?
• Who will provide water to/feed/walk the pet?
• Where will the pet rest?
• Is the pet housebroken?
• How to handle the pet when clients/vendors are in the office?

It’s also important to set some ground rules when allowing pets in the workplace.

When we found out Christiana would be bringing home a furry bundle of joy, our CEO, Stephanie Kulha, offered to let Lucy come to work a few days a week. However, before allowing Lucy into our office, we made sure all of her shots were up to date, she was housebroken, and everyone in the office was comfortable having her here.

We did have a concern about barking, as we operate out of a suite of offices. While she does bark from time to time, it’s not excessive, and Christiana does her best to calm Lucy down when she gets too hyper. We also limit the amount of days that Lucy will come in, and set boundaries that she is not to come in when we have a client coming to our office. When Lucy sheds, it is Christiana’s responsibility to vacuum up her fur.

Join the crowd!

NPR shares that “according to the Society of Human Resource management (SHRM), 7 percent of employers now allow pets to come to work with their owners. That’s up from 5 percent five years ago.”

For the Advanta Team, it’s been a great experience having a dog in the office. We’re really glad our “Little Lou Lou” is here!