I think having office pets is unsafe/unhygienic

r/

A team member shared that our office in Halifax, Canada now got an office bunny.

A friend was telling their office has an office dog.

I think having office pets is a pile of problems.

Between cable management, chair, people moving around, I feel like it’s overstimulating for an animal. Some people have pet allergies, myself included. Are companies prepared to keep those areas allergen-free? Provide medication/epipens? Pay for ambulances if the need arises?

Even a room designated for pets can still be an issues, because fur gets on people’s clothes.

Certified-service dogs are a different case as they are trained for specific tasks and just overall, very well trained. When a service dog comes into an office, then, these needs can be reevaluated.

Comments

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  2. AnythingGlum2469 Avatar

    I have never heard of this but this would be absolutely horrible

  3. boxbrownieaesthetic Avatar

    I once worked a temp job at an office where the president/owner let his two pet turtles roam around on the office floor. I always kept my feet on an upside down wastebasket under my desk. Hello salmomella. 🤢🤢🤢

  4. AirshipLivesMatter Avatar

    Back when I worked in an office I brought my dog. Some of the issues you mentioned arent actually issues, like cable management. Cables shouldn’t be out loose anyway, that is considered a safety/trip hazard for humans. Unless you mean a dog chewing cables? That is just a misbehaved dog and should never be in an office. I am horrified when I hear office dogs causing any damage, pooping/peeing inside, ughhhh no. 

    Overstimulation? For some dogs maybe. My office was super calm and my dog slept most of the day.

    Thankfully no one in my office had allergies, but if they did, yes they would be accomodated. That could mean keeping my dog away if that was sufficient, and if not, then the dog wouldn’t come in anymore.

    Tldr: office dogs can work out, but sometimes they don’t.

  5. Old_Sheepherder_630 Avatar

    I agree it would be a problem if they sprung this on people who were hired for a no pet office. But if it’s known going in that it’s an environment that allows pets people can self select out. The company should definitely make it known as early as the ad and reiterate it on the first call so no one is surprised.

    The overstimulation for the animal depends on the environment and the animal in question. Plenty of office dogs are well behaved and if an animal is going to get overstimulated due to people moving then they shouldn’t be in the workplace.

    As long as it’s legal there is nothing wrong IMO with a pet friendly work place.

  6. Cyb3rcl4w Avatar

    I’ve never had an office that allowed pets.
    But the ones that do, id assumed are either privately owned or everyone in the office had a discussion on if this was okay or not? Allergies being the biggest negative factor.
    Things like fur and dogs walking around don’t normally bother animal people. Personally I can see the pros of having animals around as long as they’re not badly behaved. But like I said .. a discussion should be had and all parties should be on board.

  7. One-Possible1906 Avatar

    It’s gross and distracting, I agree. Especially stuff like rabbits which are disgusting, they have a body odor and poop like every 2 seconds and have to eat it to survive 🤢🤢🤢. A fish tank that is being properly cared for is fine, or if people live in the space like an adult home, a small pet that is cleaned and cared for to enrich residents, or a class pet that is part of schooling if students are not allergic, but if there is not a clear purpose for the pet being there it really probably shouldn’t. People like pets which is fine but we have seemed to forget as a society that pets are dirty and they smell.

  8. Colanasou Avatar

    Outside of minding allergies, pets ate fine if theyre well behaved and act right during the day

  9. Lahoura Avatar

    My friends work will take turns on who’s pet comes in as long as said pet and owner follow certain rules. No loud, can’t jump on people, 1 pet in the office at a time, house trained. Ive seen office videos with like 5+ large dogs running around. I would quit in a heartbeat but one quiet dog once in a while might be good mentally for employees 

  10. CaptoObvo Avatar

    Are you sure that’s what an “office bunny” is?
    /Disappointed

  11. apricot-butternuts Avatar

    Same reason you don’t bring your kids to work. It’s an unecessary distraction.

  12. Mr101722 Avatar

    No real comments, I don’t really care either way too much. Just wanted to say hello fellow bluenoser 🙂

  13. could_it_be_real Avatar

    I had a boss (who owned the company) that would bring in his medium-sized, long-haired dog to work every day. We worked at a FOOD MANUFACTURING facility. I could not believe it. And we passed our health/food-safety inspections too. Boss put a vest on the dog and referred to it as “pest control”.

  14. chease86 Avatar

    I think the right pet in the right office can be fine. A dog that’s bounding around knocking stuff over all day? Nah obviously not, but an chilled out half deaf elderly dog/ cat that just wants a little attention? Sure so long as no one has any serious allergies in that office.

  15. wiLd_p0tat0es Avatar

    I LOVE animals. In a world where it wouldn’t be weird AND where they’d actually like it, I’d bring my cats everywhere. THey’re my true besties.

    And if someone did bring an animal to my workplace, it’d be the highlight of the week.

    But that said:

    – I think it’s not fair to an animal to “live at work,” because who is really paying attention to them or giving them enrichment in that setting? They are a distraction, not a “feature,” and thus they can’t get the love they deserve. (This is ameliorated a bit if the pet doesn’t “live” at the workplace and goes home with someone every night. At that point, it’s THEIR pet that they bring to work, not the “office pet.”

    – In Europe, I was surprised to learn that in some countries (like Spain), dogs go everywhere with their owners. Even inside shops, etc. and to appointments. They have a very different dog culture than the USA. I first noticed it when I realized most dogs in Madrid were totally off leash, and yet they weren’t barking or reactive or whatever. People also don’t touch / communicate with / fawn over other people’s dogs. There’s much more confidence and stability in animals there. And I can see how in that type of culture a dog or pet in a workplace would be totally fine because the pets are just… more confident, less reactive, and much more likely to simply sit with their owner. It becomes a baked in / trained expectation. I was genuinely shocked by how different dog culture is here vs there.

  16. muhhuh Avatar

    We have an office cat. He’s a cool dude and doesn’t hurt anything.

  17. tultommy Avatar

    We have an office dog. They asked everyone if they were allergic first. No one was. He loves being here and makes rounds several times a day to get pet and put a smile on peoples faces. It’s one of the nicest things about my day.

    I’m sorry you don’t like dogs.

  18. SuttonSystems Avatar

    We have not an office dog but a colleague who regularly brings hers in, if anyone complained I think we would all be happy to lose 85 – 90% of the human staff to keep her.

  19. ajmart23 Avatar

    I wouldn’t be down to work for a company that allows animals. This isn’t a zoo. It’s a workplace. I have severe allergies and I do not want pet dander and hair all over. Keep your friendly furry loved ones at home.

  20. aurashockb Avatar

    My inlaws/husband own their own company and often take the dogs to the office. We have a chocolate lab. If you need to know anything about chocolate labs, its that they are crazy. Never ending energy. He has not once ran through any cables. But since its family members that have no allergies I can’t contest to that. I think if it were an issue of allergens then there would have to be rules for that. Thankfully the company they own doesnt really have customers coming in and out. Between both families, we have 2 dogs with medical issues so being able to take them to work during their flare up is extremely helpful to the dogs and the business as no one has to call out for the day. I think it is all situational and dependent on the company/business its self but overall, outside of allergens, its really not that big of a deal

  21. Chickadee12345 Avatar

    I don’t think it’s a great idea. A lot of people have allergies. And we have one woman at our office (about 25 people) who is deathly afraid of all dogs because of an incident when she was a child. At my previous company, we usually had at most 15 people at any one time, my boss (the owner) used to bring her dogs. The first one was a lab. When he passed, she adopted a Rotweiller. The Rottie was the best dog and he loved everyone. He was pretty chill. Except for the man who occasionally came in to refill our snack and soda machines. The Rottie just wanted pets, but the man reacted in a way that made the dog think it was playtime. Don’t ask, he was probably just afraid of the dog. It wasn’t funny, but I still laugh at the image of the big dog, standing on his hind legs, pinning the soda guy up against the machine, just trying to lick his face (dog was neutered, it wasn’t even a dominance display). We made sure to keep the dog away from the soda guy from that point on.