As parts of the world begin to re-open thanks to an unprecedented rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, employees must again return their attention to the care of their dogs during work hours.
In case you haven’t followed me before, I’m a HUGE SUPPORTER of both working from home and the dog-friendly workplace. From a sustainability perspective, I think that office-based roles should embrace work-from-home. Working from home is good for the environment (no emissions from commuting), good for workers who have less time pressures – easily gaining the hours spent commuting to give to their families, added sleep, and other activitieis – and great for dogs.
Dogs benefit from a stay-at-home parent.
Most dogs need to sleep during the day. There is no better and restful environment than a parent who works from home, quietly offering security while the dog rests (commercial day cares can’t do this nearly as effectively!). Break times offer the immediate opportunity for a walk – good for canine and human fitness and mental health.
But if working from home is not an option, Mars Petcare, as part of its Better Cities for Pets program, has created a number of resources for workplaces to help guide them to becoming dog-friendly.
Visit the Better Cities for Pets website to download these resources:
- Benefits of pet-friendly workplaces
- Pet-friendly workplace Q&A
- Leadership considerations
- Legal considerations
- Facilities considerations
- Creating your pet policy
- Sample pet policy
- Creating your participant pledge
- Sample participant pledge
- Communicating your program
- More pet-friendly benefits to consider
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
DoggyMom.com 