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Event creator Pet Sitters International anticipates participation by pet lovers and businesses around the globe to celebrate the great companions pets make and promote their adoptions.

KING, N.C. (June 10, 2019)— Friday, June 21, marks PSI’s 21st annual Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWDay^®).  Pet Sitters International (PSI), the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters, created the event more than two decades ago to celebrate the great companions dogs make and promote their adoptions.  

Since creating the event in 1999, PSI has encouraged employers across the United States and Canada—and around the globe—to open their doors to employees’ dogs for one fun summer Friday each year for this celebration for a good cause. PSI offers a free downloadable event toolkit that provides instructions for planning a TYDTWDay event, as well as employee participation forms and a sample “dogs at work” policy.

For this year’s event, PSI has partnered with 2019 sponsor Fear Free Happy Homes who supports the campaign’s mission and also offers cutting-edge education to enrich pets’ lives.

Over the years, the celebration has expanded to include other pet types with the entire week leading up to the event (June 17-21) observed as Take Your Pet To Work Week® and Monday, June 17, designated as Take Your Cat To Work Day® to encourage participants to bring their feline friends.

When PSI created Take Your Dog To Work Day® in 1999, PSI President Patti J. Moran says the day was met with skepticism, but over the years, more and more large, small and mid-sized companies have answered the call to celebrate pets at work and often also raise money for local pet-rescue organizations and animal shelters.

 “While TYDTWDay offers a fun opportunity to have dogs at work, its purpose since the inaugural celebration has always been to encourage pet adoptions,” explained Moran.

In recent years, the event’s popularity has been bolstered by social media with pet lovers eager to share photos of their pets at work.

“For years we promoted the campaign through grassroots efforts reaching out directly to businesses and media,” said Beth Stultz-Hairston, PSI vice-president and TYDTWDay spokesperson. “Now, social-media users are our biggest advocates—spreading the word by sharing their photos on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the #takeyourdogtoworkday, #takeyourcattoworkday or #takeyourpettoworkweek hashtags.”

To learn more Take Your Dog To Work Day, Take Your Pet To Work Week or Take Your Cat To Work Day, visit www.petsit.com/takeyourdog.  

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