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Canadian offices going to the dogs as work-from-home ending
Daisy, a 12-year-old Lab, is among the many pets joining their owners returning to Canadian offices after working from home through the pandemic.
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Johan Van Hulle (L-R), Dave McMullen and Bill Dicke hold a meeting with their dogs at Tungsten Collaborative May 5, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. (AFP/Dave Chan)
D
aisy moseys over to greet visitors, her tail wagging. She's listed as chief morale officer on Tungsten Collaborative's website, and is among the many pets joining their owners returning to Canadian offices after working from home through the pandemic.
The 12-year-old Lab sniffs for treats. Before long, a Basset Hound named Delilah waddles over, offering up her belly for a rub, along with other four-legged colleagues Eevee the Greyhound and German Shepherd puppy Hudson, who lets out a bark.
Daisy's proficiencies include "stress management" and "client engagement," according to her biography, which notes that many of the industrial design studio's "greatest innovations can be traced back to a long walk" with her.
"We encourage people if they have pets to bring them (to work)," Tungsten president Bill Dicke, 47, said in an interview with AFP.
"You develop this relationship being at home with your pet on a day-to-day basis and all of a sudden you go back to work, so now they have to be crated for the day or roam the house alone, it's not fair to them," he opined.
"The tolerance for pets (at work) during the pandemic has increased," he added.
These dogs sleep under desks or in the boardroom throughout the day, chase balls down a hallway or chew squeaky toys. There's a row of water bowls in the office kitchen, if they get thirsty.
