Dogs At Work

My three office mates.

Reacher, my Boxer, along with Vega and Panzer, the German Shepherds, are considered working breeds. Yet they obviously aren't well suited for writing, editing or emails. Yet they're at work with me every day. It helps that the office is just upstairs from my kitchen.

While Reacher, Vega and Panzer aren't much help with the hands-on aspects of my business, they do provide company for me in this solo operation. They also give me a reason to take a break now and then since I would otherwise have the tendency to power right through the day (and sometimes into the evening) when a deadline is looming.

However, three dogs in the office doesn't mean they always lie quietly at my feet, lulled into a trance by the clicking of the keyboard. In fact, there are times when they are chasing each other from my desk, into the hall, down the steps and back up again.

When I'm on a phone call, inevitably a disagreement breaks out over which one has rights to a particular bone. I just give them the evil eye, sign "shhhh" by putting my finger to my lips and shoo them out of the office while attempting to keep track of my conversation. Depending on the decibel level I sometimes have to offer the client an explanation for the ruckus.

When I explain that I share my office with three four-legged friends, the usual response is, "You're one lucky dog!" 

I think so, too.