Do Dogs Belong at Work?

Advanced Roofing employees are welcome to bring their dogs to the office, and we were interviewed by the Sun Sentinel recently when they wrote an article on the subject. Read the full story below:

Each workday, a chocolate Labrador named Gen. Patton patrols Source One Distributors in Wellington.

"I'm a former Marine and my dog is named after an Army General," says Mark Llano with a laugh. After serving, he founded a business that sells goods to the military.

Gen. Patton is athletic, running three miles with Llano each day at lunch. He's also the workplace psychologist: When a worker is having a bad day, Patton picks up on it and lies nearby.

"A dog has a sensitivity for these things," Llano says.

Allowing dogs and other animals in the workplace can be a controversial policy. Dogs in the workplace raise morale, say business owners who allow them daily at the office. But employees can feel cornered if they don't like animals, and some pets have the wrong personality for the office.

While some companies allow dogs at work everyday, others only permit it as special event. On Friday, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida will participate in "Take Your Dog to Work Day," an annual event by Pet Sitters International to encourage dogs' adoption from humane societies and animal shelters.

Before bringing a dog into the workplace, make sure they are social and likely to behave. A constantly barking dog can be disruptive. Some employees or customers may be allergic to dogs or be frightened of them, so dog owners need to be sensitive.

But business owners with dogs in the workplace say these are rare concerns.

"We've only had one incident in four years -- an accountant who came to the office and was scared of dogs because of a bad experience in childhood," says Llano, who simply closed his office door and left Gen. Patton out of the meeting.

But at Advanced Roofing in Fort Lauderdale, at least one dog, Coco, can nudge open office doors. The inquisitive beagle is owned by Kevin Kornahrens, director of human resources and son of company founders.

Coco is one of four dogs regularly at Advanced Roofing; two others visit. But not all dogs work out.

Rose Brittain, who also works in human resources, tried bringing her dog Skeeter, a Jack Russell terrier. "He wanted to sit in my lap the whole time," she says. "If I had someone to interview or got up, he would cry. He was too needy."

At Cabinetparts.com, yellow labradors Lenny and Charlie are so much part of the business that founder Pat Abbe features the dogs on his company's Web site.

"These guys bring so much peace," Abbe says.

But when chief executive Joe Deliso joined the company a few years ago, he was "not a big fan of dogs in the workplace," Abbe says. "He came from a culture that animals have their place and it's not the workplace."

A few years ago, Deliso brought up the possibility of putting the dogs in a separate room while workers ate lunch, but employees adamantly protested. "He never brought it up again," Abbe says.

Karen Wichman, leasing agent at Lauderdale Marine Center in Fort Lauderdale, brings her West Highland white terrier to work each day. Frank-o sits under her desk.

"He's the head of security here," jokes Wichman. Frank-o is so gentle he visits children in the hospital in the Angels on a Leash program.

When Wichman began her job at the marina three years ago, she brought her dog to work one day when she thought her boss was traveling. He came into the office instead.

"My boss is not an animal lover," she says. But Frank-o's sweet disposition soon won him over.

Wichman says it's Frank-o's good behavior that makes him welcome at work. She also takes him bicycle riding and to Pilates class.

"He has more friends in Fort Lauderdale than I do."

Marcia Heroux Pounds can be reached at mpounds@sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6650.