There is nothing harder than leaving the house for work in the morning with Max and Maggie giving you the sad-eyes as you walk out the door.
Well today, you and your little canines are in luck.
Friday, June 22nd, marks the 14th annual Pet Sitters International’s Take Your Dog to Work Day, an event first instilled in 1999 by Pet Sitters International (PSI) as a way to celebrate the friendships between humans and their dog companions and to promote shelter adoptions.
While only one in five U.S. companies allows pets in the workplace year round, but PSI encourages companies to welcome their employees’ four-legged furry friends each year on the Friday following Father’s Day.
Bringing Fido to the work place with you has been proven to have many benefits for the employee and the company also. Dogs have been shown to improve office morale, boost productivity, and reduce job-related stress; just ask top companies like Google, Amazon, and Ben & Jerry’s, all of which allow their employees’ dogs to tag along at the office. A recent study conducted by Central Michigan University demonstrates that when dogs are allowed in the workplace, coworkers tend to trust one another more and collaborate better.
This year’s Take Your Dog to Work Day event and campaign includes a very special message that PSI hopes will increase adoption rates at shelters and rescue organizations across the country. Due to the economic crisis, the number of unemployed and underemployed pet owners has increased tenfold.
This leads to a crisis – many otherwise wonderful pet moms and dads cannot afford to properly care for their pets. Intake numbers at U.S. animal shelters are on the rise, and the inflating numbers of homeless dogs and cats has taken its toll. There are an estimated six to eight million dogs and cats relinquished to animal shelters each year, and according to the Humane Society of the United States, three to four million of those pets are ultimately euthanized.
On this Take Your Dog to Work Day, PSI encourages people to consider adopting from a shelter or animal rescue organization in order to lower “the dog unemployment rate” for good.
The day marks the culmination of Take Your Pet to Work Week, which accommodates owners of cats, rabbits, birds, and any pet that walks, swims, slithers, or flies.
