BRING YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY
Cover Story
PAWSOME PARTNERS By Anita Jaynes
Friday 24th June is Bring Your Dog To Work Day. # BringYourDogToWorkDay
Established in 2014 by ethical pet product company HOWND ®, Bring Your Dog To Work Day is an annual nationwide event that raises money for charities dedicated to making a difference to the welfare of animals. Thousands of businesses and dog owners join in the viral fun in what has become the nation’ s best day out( or in) for dogs. This year the day is raising funds for three charities, All Dogs Matter, Animals Asia and Surge Sanctuary. Individuals and businesses can donate to the‘ day’ if they wish.
Pandemic Pups
Anita and her dog Prince the Rough Collie
For more info: wwwbringyourdogtoworkday. co. uk
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The Dogs Trust’ s most recent survey revealed a massive boost in dog ownership during the pandemic. 3.2 million dogs joined families during lockdown, taking the UK dog population to 12.5 million.
The pandemic also saw a significant shift in the average age of dog owners, with a huge increase in first-time dog ownership in the UK. 48 per cent of ' pandemic pups’( dogs
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who were acquired under six months old since 1 March 2020) were bought by under 44s, and 18-24-year-olds were over six times more likely to buy a pup in the last two years than they were before the pandemic.
What does this mean for the workplace? More people of working age have dogs and are keen to take them into the office. There is a rise in companies across the
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UK introducing pet-friendly policies to encourage people to return to places of work, following the lead of progressive global giants such as Google, Apple and Amazon. Many of you may have seen the Amazon video that went viral introducing ' some of the cutest dogs at Amazon.' It shows reception desks stocked with dog treats and a ' doggie deck ' where dogs can play and be |
exercised during breaks. They even have dog-friendly water fountains. Are you reading this thinking the world ' s gone barking mad? In fact, bringing a dog into work is known to have benefits.
Research by The Kennel Club shows that people believe there are many advantages to workplaces being dog friendly.
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Kennel Club research shows that:
• 70 per cent of people say that dogs alleviate stress in the workplace
• 67 per cent of people say that dogs make the atmosphere more friendly
• 51 per cent of people say that dogs improve morale and job satisfaction
• 51 per cent of people say that dogs encourage employees to take breaks from the screen
• 45 per cent of people say that dogs make the company / organisation more attractive for job seekers with dogs
• 33 per cent of people say that dogs improve productivity
• 25 per cent of people say that dogs make the company / organisation more attractive for job seekers without a dog
Happy Tails
We spoke to several local firms embracing the bring your dog to work trend to find out their experiences and what it means to them.
Grace Farrimond, Young Blooms
" Having my dog Winston up at work with me is always fun; the first thing he does getting out of the van at Hartley Farm is head straight for the butchers every day! He knows the right place to go for treats. I think when you have a dog around your workspace it lowers stress massively; dogs pick up on these sorts of things and Winston will generally come over for a fuss at just the right time. Having him also makes me stop for breaks as he’ s a type of dog that needs lots of walking- he loves to go off in the lanes around Hartley farm and sniff out all the nice smells! I’ ve trained him to wear flowercrowns from when he was a puppy and he’ s featured quite heavily on Young Blooms’ Instagram channel; it ' s certainly got me new business through doing this!”
Truespeed
Koda the Truespeed Black Labrador takes being top dog very seriously and embraces all the office activities. He said," On Fridays at Truespeed we wear pink and I love to get in on the action, don’ t I look smart!”
20 www. tbebathandsomerset. co. uk