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Businesses typically celebrate Take Your Dog To Work Day® by allowing employees to bring their dogs to work on the special day, and many companies also plan special events and activities while the dogs are at work. While planning your event, be sure to check out these tips for success.

Even if you are a business whose employees work remotely, some of the celebration ideas below can be adapted for virtual celebrations—for example, you can hold a virtual “lunch and learn” or a digital adopt-a-thon. Other virtual celebration options include sharing employees’ pet photos on your company’s blog or social-media sites—or inviting employees’ dogs to a virtual staff meeting. For more virtual and in-person celebration tips, access PSI’s free event toolkit.

Please note: The following information, resources and templates are provided as a courtesy and are not intended to provide legal advice. Your event materials and policies should be customized to adhere to any local laws, building codes and business policies.

Here are some celebration ideas to consider:

Educate employees with a "lunch and learn" or guest speaker.

PSI's TYDTWDay® is about having fun, but what's more important is raising awareness for homeless dogs. Use the day as a way to educate people in your company about local homeless pets and the health benefits of pet ownership—and show them you understand the important role pets play in their lives. You can also consider inviting a PSI member professional pet sitter to speak to employees.

Past participant Red Roof Inn—Corporate Office (pictured above) invited a representative from their local humane society to come speak to employees, and also offered a TYDTWDay lunch for staff members and their dogs.

Host a Fido Fundraiser for a local charity or shelter.

Host a TYDTWDay fundraiser and designate the proceeds from your event to a local animal charity, shelter or rescue group. Whether you are able to bring pets into your workplace or not, anyone can host a fundraiser. Participating businesses have planned silent auctions, hosted dog/owner look-a-like contests and more to raise money.

Village Green (pictured above) in Michigan has participated in Take Your Dog To Work Day for more than 15 years, and the company's annual event—and auction—has raised more than $60,000 for local pet-related charities/organizations. Learn more about Village Green's annual TYDTWDay event. 

Plan a doggie adopt-a-thon to help homeless pets.

Make arrangements for a few pets from a local shelter or rescue group to visit your business and meet employees. Depending upon your workplace, you may also be able to host an adoption fair open to the public onsite or post adoptable pets on your company's website or social media sites. The end result could be multiple pet adoptions, and that is what TYDTWDay is all about!

Previous participant Coldwell Banker Real Estate Now in Tennessee (pictured above) invited two local pet-rescue groups to participate in their TYDTWDay celebration and invited local news stations to give the rescue groups additional exposure.

Organize a pet fair to highlight local pet businesses.

Invite local pet professionals to come and talk about their businesses or host an information session for your workplace. Consider inviting pet sitters, dog trainers, groomers, veterinarians, etc. You may also ask vendors to donate products or gift certificates for a raffle or silent auction.

Offer a photo session for participants and their pets.

Have a photographer come in and take photos of your special event. Consider giving each participant a copy of a photo with his or her pet. You can also have employees bring in photos of their dogs for a photo contest. Don't forget to share photos from your event online. We'd love to see them. Use hashtag #takeyourdogtoworkday with your event photos.

Party hearty with a special lunch or desserts and dog treats.

TYDTWDay offers employees a fun summer Friday! A hot dog lunch with all of the fixings along with dog bone-shaped cookies and doggie treats gives everyone a fun "paws" at work. Consider charging a small fee for lunch that can be donated to a local animal rescue or shelter.

Many companies, including Thomas & King Inc. in Kentucky (pictured above), also plan some type of "party" on the day. In addition to hosting a doggie parade and owner-dog lookalike contest, Thomas & King has also hosted a hot dog luncheon in celebration of TYDTWDay.

Host canine contests for your TYDTWDay participants.

Hold fun contests, such as best trick, friendliest canine co-worker, the "lazy dog" employee of the day or "most talented." Use your imagination for other fun contest categories.

Model Consulting, Inc. (pictured above), in Pennsylvania, hosted a "Best in Show" Mutt Strut, with treats and awards given out to participants. Their event also raised money for a local humane society.

+ Don't forget about Take Your Pet To Work Week®.

Remember, if you can't participate on TYDTWDay (Friday, June 21, 2024) or owners with other types of pets want to get involved in the fun, you can host an event any day during Take Your Pet To Work Week®, June 17-21, 2024. The week kicks off on #MeowMonday with Take Your Cat To Work Day® on June 17, 2024!