Pets At Work...At Home?!?

This article may only be reproduced in its entirety, including the resource box and subscription information electronically or in print. A courtesy copy of your publication would be nice, too! Pets At Work...At Home?!? Have you seen newspaper articles and TV news show spots about people bringing their pets to work? Is this a veiled attempt to make the workplace more like home? Supposedly, some people claim that it creates greater productivity and a better sense of well-being. Of course, not all pets and/or occupations are exactly suited to it... "Now Trixie, you be a good poodle and stop jumping on the scaffolding. We're 20 stories up...Trixie??" "Hey Buster, you lucky kittycat! You're going with Mommy to work at the dog pound!!" Working at home naturally means your pet's there with you, however. Not always the best thing for productivity and well-being, somehow. When my dog Hunter is with me, he'll play nonstop with his tennis ball - usually, when he's not bellowing at it for having the nerve to roll under a bureau under which he no longer fits. I once saw a Great Dane dive under a couch for his squeaky toy. Unfortunately, I was a passenger on that couch for a short flight... When Hunter's out, my cat's in. He doesn't believe in working at home at all unless you're working to make him happy. Or as he puts it: "MeowMEOWRRR!!" (loosely translated, "Work to do? The cat Is HUNGRY!!") Whether you're a crafter with a cunning canine covertly chewing cushions or a freelancer with a fretful feline fixated on feeding...well, you get what I mean. Pets are one more aspect of working at home that keeps it...interesting. With two boys, a dog, a cat, a wife and a household to keep together to boot, Dan Reinhold is the editor of WAHumor to hang on to his sanity by showing how insane the work-at-home community can be. Work at home? You deserve a laugh! Subscribe at WAHumor-subscribe@topica.com Send something WAHumorous to WAHumor@yahoo.com Do both and enter our monthly drawing!