Meet Fido, Head of Document Destruction Services.

June 4, 2008 6:03 PM

Inspired by this thread, how do I go about finding an employer that allows its employees to bring their dogs to work? For those of you fortunate enough to be in this type of situation, how did you find your job? I am a patent prosecution paralegal and open to the idea of relocating.
posted by invisible ink to work & money (11 comments total)

Dumb luck, I'm afraid. Both my wife and I have had this situation. In my case, my employer was located in a part of town that had a tradition of dog-friendliness. A good number of businesses there had dogs. For example, the Gap in the middle of the area would set out a bowl of water and a bucket of dog treats every morning.
posted by pandanom at 6:24 PM on June 4, 2008

I've worked in that kind of company. It just happened that way because I work in tech, and a lot of those companies tend to be fairly relaxed. I'd guess that small businesses where the owner/operators a big on dogs is another one.
But I kind of preferred it when people didn't bring their dogs in. Not enough to suggest that they not do it, as I'm sure they get a lot out of it, but it's kind of like kids on a plane - not a good environment for them and even when they're behaving well and quiet and staying put, a lot of effort is being expended in keeping them that way, and sometimes that's distracting in its own right. There is also the allergy issue - from reading AskMefi you'll know that some people are sufficiently mortified about things like how to request that a coworker to stop wearing a perfume that makes them sick, that they stay quiet and endure the misery. The same goes for dogs, and for smoking indoors.
posted by -harlequin- at 6:27 PM on June 4, 2008

Definitey dumb luck. I've found that tech companies will do whatever they can to keep good employees, so as long as I proved I was a good employee I got away with murder. Other than that, working for small companies also meant that the puppy got a free pass to accompany me to the office.

The problem comes when you have someone who should NOT bring their dog to the office, but does. If you're thinking of asking your employer to bring the dog, then you need to be able to answer that question.
posted by SpecialK at 6:33 PM on June 4, 2008

I worked at a software company which had a dogs at work policy for a while. We didn't start out that way but after a new hire asked for and got permission to bring in her dog and others quickly followed suit, so at least in some cases, you just have to be willing to be the first person to ask.

The policy ended after several complaints/incidents. The person who had started the whole thing quickly left for another dog-friendly company, which she found via this website.
posted by jamaro at 6:34 PM on June 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I would imagine that you're going to have a lot more luck with small firms. They probably won't have a real policy, but may be more receptive to letting you bring your dog into work, at least on a trial basis.
posted by zachlipton at 6:42 PM on June 4, 2008

Purina allows pets at work. At least the offices in St. Louis do.
posted by sulaine at 6:44 PM on June 4, 2008

I was one of the people in the previous thread that mentioned that bringing in my dog was a perk at work. In job #1, the boss was also a dog lover and brought his two dogs in. In job #2, the policy was already in place - we work fairly long hours and allowing us to bring our dogs to work meant that we could stay longer.

I didn't actively LOOK for a job that had this perk, but since I am originally from the east coast and moved out west, I found that small companies with happy employees out here seemed to be more dog friendly.

The office environment is very important - both jobs had / have a very casual atmosphere because we didn't have "walk in" traffic. So everybody knows each other and there isn't constant walking in and out of strangers, causing territorial issues. Almost all employees had dogs, though not every person brought in a dog. Some people may bring in a dog for the afternoon. I have to say that most of the dogs at work have been pretty mellow and well behaved. I don't think a young, barky puppy would be as welcome.

So if you go for an interview at a company without a pet friendly policy, check out the environment, see if people have dog pictures up on their desk. Wait a couple of months, see if the job fits you and you fit the job; if all is going well, it might not hurt to bring it up as a perk down the line.
posted by HeyAllie at 6:55 PM on June 4, 2008

I worked for Burton Snowboards and most employees brought dog to work. They do a lot of IP work.
posted by k8t at 7:00 PM on June 4, 2008

I also worked at Burton Snowboards, and I am still friends with a lot of people there. mefi-mail me if you'd be interested in relocating to Burlington, VT.

Well behaved dogs are allowed fairly free-reign of the place.
posted by xotis at 7:33 PM on June 4, 2008

Dumb luck here, too. No one even mentioned it to me when I was interviewing; I didn't even know it was a possibility until a couple people had brought their dogs in. I work for a small, very specialized tech consulting company.
posted by cgg at 7:33 PM on June 4, 2008

If they are smart, a dog-friendly company will mention the perk to you in the interview. That's what happened to me... it was kind of a "Just so you know, during slow times we allow employees to bring their well-behaved dogs to work" thing. Since everyone (including the big boss herself) brought their dogs, that was their way of signaling that if I had extreme allergies or was averse to dogs, I would be better off elsewhere.
posted by somanyamys at 6:40 AM on June 5, 2008