Nov 18 2008
Pets in the Workplace - Yay or Nay?
(Poll at bottom of post)
I so hate my job, but let’s face it; I’m not the only one in this predicament. I have a boss who can be an intrusive bitch, another who is only valuable to the company when he’s drunk, and another who pisses the company money away while the former two spend every waking moment bitching about him. Add that with the fact that answering phones for a bottled water company is doing absolutely nothing for my writing career and you’ve got more than enough reasons for me to put a gun to my head.
Yet despite all this, the thing that drives me insane the most is my bosses dog, whom she insists on bringing with her to the office everyday (unless it rains – thus bringing me a new found appreciation for sudden downpours).
Every day it’s the same routine: my boss arrives 7 minutes after 10 (she’ll never admit that she’s late). The dog is first to the door, barking and howling. I let them in and the damn thing stands in the center of the office barking up a storm. This is accompanied by my boss shouting “Eh! Eh! Eh!” because she thinks that this will make the dog stop (it doesn’t). My boss stops her noises after 5 minutes, but the dog continues for about an hour. That is unless the phone rings – then the dog starts barking again prompting my boss to make her ridiculous noises.
When people arrive to the office it’s even worse. Since the dog is quite large and extremely loud, no one wants to come in with it howling at them through the door. So then I have to be the Dog Whisperer, drop whatever I’m doing, and try to get this large creature to listen to me and move, all the while with my boss yelling from her office “She won’t bite, its okay!” Meanwhile, she’s so inconsiderate that she will never realize that it doesn’t matter what she says; if you’re scared of dogs and there’s a giant one howling at you, someone yelling in the background will not immediately cure anyone of their fear. Not to mention that even though she claims the dog won’t bite, this dog does. She’s ripped apart the pants of two of the sales guys and keeps trying to get mine. I mention this to my boss and she replies “Oh that’s just because she’s so playful”. Right.
It’s been brought up many times how unprofessional it is for the dog to be barking in the background of a phone call or for the dog to trample all over prospective clients, but of course, my boss refuses to listen. “What do you expect me to do – just keep her all alone in my tiny apartment?” she whines. Um, yeah? That’s what a gazillion other dog owners have to do when they go to work; if it’s that much of a problem then don’t get a dog. That’s why I have cats – I know that my work schedule can get kind of erratic and I didn’t want to get a pet that would rely on me being home at a certain time so they could pee.
If her boss was in the office more, I wouldn’t have to deal with this problem, but since he’s always traveling, my oh-so-thoughtful “leader” brings the dog in anyway saying “I know how much you like having her around.” I don’t know how my pleas of “Oh my God, please stop barking!” means that I like the dog.
To add insult to injury, this dog can get like the Tasmanian devil and loves to destroy things around the place. She chews up everything and anything and when I try to pull things like a wad of glued up paper or my pocketbook out of her mouth, my boss gets upset with me for saying “No!”
“I’m the only one who is allowed to discipline my dog,” she practically snarls. Okay then lady, then when your dog eats an entire paper coffee cup and starts vomiting around the place, don’t come to me to bemoan over the fact that your dog is sick.
Keep in mind, I’m not a dog hater and I have nothing against people bringing their pets to work as long as the pet has the appropriate temperament. In the office next door, they have the sweetest little dog who sits quietly the entire day wagging her tail and will gladly smother you with kisses when you pick her up. The receptionist can always hear who’s on the line, clients can walk in without being attacked, and the employees can come and go as they please without worrying that they or their belongings will be torn apart. Maybe I should see if they’re hiring…
Do You Think Pets Should Be Allowed in the Workplace?
( surveys)
