We raised a shepherd puppy for a little over a year for the Eye Dog Foundation 10 years ago.  Part of the socialization process involved taking him to work frequently.  He was the star of the office when there, which was often.  Pets don't belong in many, if not most, work places, but when they can be there, it's a very humanizing (strangely) thing and definitely adds to the enjoyment of the workplace.

I was lucky enough that the pup flunked out of eye dog school & became our pet at age 18 months.  Awesome friend, he is.  Tenth birthday coming up in November.

I imagine a lot of it would depend on the individual dog.  I think it's a great idea as long as it works out.

The pup flunked on purpose... they understand messages we don't even sense we're sending by the stress in our voices, the scents associated with our emotions, and our body language... lucky? Yes... but in a higher sense, so to speak.

I envy you, i wish i could take my buddy to work but its not tolerated sadly...
 

I'd like to think that was true.  But all eleven of the litter flunked out for one reason or another.  He was the next-to-last to be DQ'd, after 4 months of his final 'boot camp' - we had to turn him in (talk about tough) at 14 months expecting to never see him again.  His return was one of the unexpected true joys of life.

Nova (or the Science Channel, can't remember which) did a wonderful episode on dogs exploring just that a year or two ago.

Just don't leave turds in the office when people come to visit.    At least that turd was aired out after a few days.   and I didn't have to sit by it. 

thanks for mentioning this. I was a little reluctant to ask if others could bring their animals to work or if it was just a boss thing.

As a cat person,I find this highly discriminatory.  Anyone know a good lawyer?

my cats made me type that

I like cats too, we should get together and swap recipes. 

Working from home means the 'cats of work' are unleashed....and I ain't got no say in it...

At the moment though, one of them is going under a surgeon's knife .... probably a good idea since her temp is 40.6.

So currently it's a case of 'unleashing the fretting-about-a-pet whilst at work'...

I hope it turns out ok.

Don't you love it when one decides to park itself right in the middle of whatever else you happen to be paying attention to?

I can only imagine how happy a workplace must be when able to bring their dogs along....they are such pack animals... it's unnatural for them to be stuck in backyards waiting til the pack comes home... wish there was more of it where possible...

hope everything has turned out ok... horrible when they're crook....   

I adopted a couple cats from a coworker who couldn't take care of him after she developed a severe allergy to cats... we still make playdates at the office. Productivity might not be the best because the cats love to run around, bat things off of desks and chase people's shoelaces and stuff (plus all those presentation laser pointers). Morale sure is up though when I bring the kitties in.

morale up.... and blood pressure down.... studies have shown just how beneficial animals are to owner's health.... and how effective they are in retirement villages and nursing homes giving a real lift to the elderly....