Today is take your dog to work day.  Now I bet some of you are thinking that I just make this stuff up, but no this is something that has been taking place for 13 years now!  First celebrated in 1999, Pet Sitters International’s Take Your Dog to Work Day was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs.

David with Spot

Since I work at home, this is not a problem for me, my dog lives here and goes to work with me every day.  Snoopy is a shiatsu.  He was given to my husband following the loss of his dachshund, BJ.  My husband has always been a dog lover since his first dog, Spot, pictured here.  He would tell me all kinds of stories about the trouble he and Spot would get into.  While I always had dogs growing up, they were outside dogs, and not allowed in the house.  Once I got married, that all changed.  I learned to live with a dog inside, but drew the line at a dog in the bed.  After my husband was injured on the job, he spent his day’s home unable to do anything.  One of our favorite weekend activities was garage sailing.  

We would start early in the day armed with the newspaper with all the listings, and ride around looking at all the treasures for sale. At one of these homes we discovered a beautiful Collie that had just had puppies.   My husband fell in love and asked the owner about adopting one of the pups.  She took our number and promised to call once they were weaned.  A few days later we received a call from the lady.  Her son had been in an accident and she had to leave at once to take care of him.  She had a pup, the runt of the litter, that needed to be bottle fed, and asked if my husband was up to the task.  He immediately agreed, and so began his task of being a substitute puppy daddy.  He fed that baby every 2 hours with warmed goat’s milk.  He used an eye dropper because it wouldn't suck from a bottle.  It was so tiny; it would fit in the palm of your hand.  He gave that little pup so much love and care that it grew and grew to a big, happy playful pup.  It nearly broke his heart when we returned him back to the owner, but within a few days a co-worker gave me dachshunds his heart quickly mended.  BJ was his constant companion, they did everything together, he even got the same kind of spinal cord injury that my husband had, and this led to his untimely death.  He was inconsolable.  This is when Snoopy came to our home.  Snoopy kind of took charge when he moved in, he was the boss and we were his servants.  My husband spoiled him rotten, and Snoopy showered him with love and attention daily. 

Our newspaper had a contest for people to send in pictures of people who look like their pets.  He won first prize!  The last words my husband spoke was to tell me he loved me and tell Snoopy good night.  Snoopy has been such a comfort to me in the months that have followed.  He stays right by my side, and yes, the line I drew to keep dogs out of the bed has been erased.  Like it or not, he is still the boss of the house, and when I go lay down, up he jumps, and it's nice to know I’m not alone.

• Most people will not be able to take their dog to work, however, if you are able, make sure to have plenty of water, food, or treats available. 
• Make sure they have a collar with licenses in place
• Make sure they are friendly and obedient.
• Take them outside often for bathroom breaks and exercise.

For more information check out:

http://www.takeyourdog.com/