This week marked International Take Your Dog to Work Day and our smallest team member, clinic pup Fergus, proves just how beneficial animals in the workplace can be.

This two-year-old puppy has the official role of chief welcomer and clinic pup at our Sinnamon Park specialist and emergency vet hospital, spending his days at work while Mum, Practice Manager Emma Bennett, runs our busy practice.

“At first he started coming to work with me as he was too young to be at home by himself. But we quickly saw the benefit of having a live-in pet for the clinic,” Emma said.

“He has a knack for identifying team members who are having a hard day and cheering them up. He also spends a lot of time with our sick animals, particularly those who are anxious and missing their owners. He’ll often curl up next to their cage and keep them company until they settle down.

“Given he’s a puppy, he also gets up to a bit of mischief but this actually seems to add to the hospital environment. Our clients enjoy his antics and have started asking after him when they come to check on their pets. “It’s been a real eye-opener what a positive difference he has made to the clinic,” she said.

Increasingly, pets are becoming more common in the workplace, with organisations like Google making this a hallmark of their office environment.

Studies have found that pets in the workplace reduced stress and positively affected employee health while helping workmates to be more cooperative, comfortable, friendly, and enthusiastic.

“Fergus’ positive impact on the workplace has helped us encourage our team to also bring their pets to work. We have had a menagerie of animals including blind kittens, anxious rescue dogs and clingy birds as part of our work family and it goes a long way to supporting our team and their happiness at work,” Emma said.

Research studies:

Critters in the cube farm: Perceived psychological and organizational effects of pets in the workplace.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11199259

A Companion Dog Increases Prosocial Behavior in Work Groups

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2017.1270595