Banessa Petty, human resources director for Alvarez Construction Co., is bringing a guest to her Jamestown Boulevard office today: Oliver, the three-pound yorkie she adopted over Memorial Day weekend.
Her husband, Matthew, the company’s online sales counselor, is carrying their chihuahua, and five other employees are also inviting their furry friends to work.
Several Baton Rouge area companies are celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day, a worldwide campaign launched 20 years ago by Pet Sitters International to honor man’s best friend and promote dog adoptions, says Beth Stultz, the trademarked holiday’s spokesperson.
While this is the first time Alvarez Construction has participated in the event, Petty says many of her coworkers have adopted dogs recently.
Two colleagues separately adopted brother and sister corgis that will be reunited today in the office.
Take Your Dog to Work Day also recognizes the blend of work and home life under which many of today’s employees operate. Stultz says participation is growing, as indicated by media coverage and web traffic for the event across the U.S. and abroad.
Marianne Frazee, president and CEO of Frazee Recruiting Consultants, says her medium-sized lab mix rescue, Maurice, regularly tags along with her to the company’s office on Energy Drive.
“[The work-home life balance] has changed a lot, especially now that you’ve got emotional support animals,” notes Frazee, whose staffing agency sent out an email blast to its 90 employees on assignment asking them to send pictures of their dogs at work with them, which the company will then post on Facebook as a way to encourage donations to Capital Area Animal Welfare Society.
Petty, who has brought her dogs to the office several times before taking them to scheduled veterinarian appointments, says the construction company’s culture—and her animal-loving bosses—foster and support work-home flexibility.
“It’s a family business, and the owners are really understanding about our lives,” Petty says. “It’s nice to know that they care not only about me, but also about an extension of me.”
