Take Your Dog To Work Day: Employer Concerns

**Why should an employer want to participate in PSI's Take Your Dog to Work Day® (TYDTWDay®)?**

TYDTWDay offers businesses a positive, unique opportunity to:

increase community involvement.
establish new community ties by partnering with a local animal shelter, rescue group, humane society and/or professional pet sitter to organize the event.
show employees you care about the role pets play in their lives.
provide a low-cost "pet perk" to employees at a time when many companies have been forced to decrease benefits.
garner positive media attention.
most importantly, support an important cause-pet adoption!

**What if my employer has concerns about participating in TYDTWDay?**

Some first-time participants have concerns about organizing an event that allows dogs in the workplace, but once companies participate and see what fun the day is, they choose to participate year after year!

However, there are some issues that you may have to consider when planning your event:

Building codes. If your company owns the building where you work, seeking special permission to allow dogs is likely not needed (unless the workspace in in a shared business plaza, etc.). However, if the office space is rented or leased, management may need permission from the landlord. If permission is needed from a landlord, be sure to demonstrate that plans are in place to ensure that guidelines, such as the sample "Dogs in the Workplace" policy in the TYDTWDay Action Pack, are in place to ensure a successful, safe event.

Liability Issues. As a matter of law, pet owners are legally responsible for any injury or damage caused by their pet/s. However, employers should check with their insurer to ensure that their general liability policy covers the event and specific guidelines should be in place for employees who plan to bring dogs. It is important that aggression of any kind in a participating dog not be tolerated. Dogs showing agressive behavior should be asked to leave the office right away.

Employees' allergies or phobias. Allergies can be very serious. In most cases, people are not allergic to dog hair, but either to the dander or saliva. The dog owners should make sure the dog has been bathed to remove dander buildup and dogs should not be in the immediate work area of an employee with allergies. For the one day celebration, companies should designate specific, shared areas such as bathroom and break rooms dog free and HR should make accommodations for any employee concerned about being near the dogs due to allergies or phobias.

No Pets Allowed? No Problem!

If, for some reason, your company decides dogs cannot be allowed, you can still celebrate-Get creative!

Many businesses have celebrated the day by:

hosting pet photo contests,
organizing fundraisers at the office for a local shelter and
having a local shelter representative or professional pet sitter talk to employees about pet care, pet health or local adoptable pets.

PSI's TYDTWDay is a once-a-year fun event to celebrate dogs and promote pet adoption. If you are seeking resources on implementing year-round dogs at work policies, you may want to read Dogs at Work: A practical guide to creating dog-friendly workplaces by Liz Palika and Jennifer Fearings, The Humane Society of the United States.