13 Businesses That Allow Dogs to Come to Work

Table of Contents

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Sometimes, I wonder if I’m on the right career path. I mean, I love blogging about dogs, and I love writing other articles on assignment. My freelance lifestyle allows me to sit at home, on my butt, in a comfortable chair, and do what I love to do – write!

I have to say, though, that it can be feast or famine. Sometimes, I’m so bogged down in writing assignments for clients that I end up sitting awake well into the night, churning out blogs. When that happens, I’ll admit that I get a little bit sulky. I just want to be snuggled up in bed with Janice and Leroy, and I suppose I resent having to stay up and slog away.

But what would I do otherwise? I can’t imagine having any kind of work where I couldn’t have my dogs with me. Sure, I know that sometimes companies have “Bring Your Dog to Work” days, but I don’t want to just be able to do that one day out of the year!

I’m not really looking for new employment, but if I were, there would be some companies that I’d consider. They’re the ones that let you bring your dog to work every single day!

Here are 12 businesses that are dog-friendly.

(1) Kia Kokalitcheva

There are any number of companies that offer perks to their employees. They might include free tea and coffee, free food, gym memberships, and more. But how many businesses are there that allow dogs to come to work?

Kia Kokalitcheva is one. This business understands how much its employees dogs mean to them, and they allow their employees to bring their dogs to work.

(2) Genentech

At Genentech, federal regulations prevent employees from bringing their dogs to the office. So I’m not exactly including them in the category of businesses that allow dogs to come to work. Genentech does care about their dog-owning employees, though, in that they provide pet insurance for their employees, and they also offer discounts for dog day care. They also have a club for their employees, the Dog club, where dog owners employed by the company can go to share resources and ideas.

(3) Hotel Palomar Phoeni

Sometimes, it’s hard to find a hotel that’s pet-friendly. I don’t travel much, but when I do, I often find that hotel operators will say “One boxer is fine.” Two, apparently, not so much.

It’s very different at Hotel Palomar Pheoni. This is a chain operated by a man named Bill Kimpton who love animals. In fact, in the early days of the chain, Mr. Kimpton used to greet guests with his dog, Chianti (a Collie) by his side.

Today, the chain encourages employees to bring their dogs to work. Some hotels in the chain even have “Directors of Pet Relations” who greet guests (often with their own dogs at their sides) who want to bring their dogs with them when they stay at the hotel.

This chain also offers pet insurance to their employees. And if an employee’s dog dies, that employee gets paid bereavement leave, the same as they would if they lost a human loved one. As someone who has had to go to work after losing a dog, all I can say is, these guys rock!

(4) Atlantic Health

This is a hospital chain based in New Jersey, and they’ve been letting people bring their dogs to work since 2012. They also have a program called “Soothing Paws” that’s designed to bring dogs into the hospital in order to soothe patients.

(5) VMWare

This tech company in Palo Alto specializes in software, and has what they call an “open campus,” meaning that workers can bring their dogs to work. All that people have to do to bring their dog into work is sign an “etiquette agreement” specifying that their dogs will behave themselves. Then they get an identity tag that allows them entrance into the business, the same as any other employee. Oh, and a pretty bandanna, too!

(6) Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-based software company, and they’ve actually developed a protocol that all businesses that allow dogs to come to work would do well to adopt. They allow their employees to bring their dogs to work, and they even have a special room set aside that has everything dogs and their people could want: padded cages, beds, water bowls, and more. They also offer pet insurance and access to veterinary house calls.

(7) Mars

Candycandycandy, right? Well, yes, but you might be surprised to know that Mars also makes pet food. Accordingly, the company is very dog-friendly, providing boarding programs for sales reps on the road. And if you were to visit their head office, you’d see dogs all over the place! You know that most corporations give to charities, right? Well, at Mars, 80% of their charitable donations go to animal causes.

The candy’s pretty kick-ass, too!

(8) Google

Bet you were wondering when we’d get here! Google is one of the biggest corporations in the world, so you might wonder what causes they support. You’ll be glad to know that dogs are right up there – in fact, Google encourages people to bring their dogs to work – even to the point of creating a subculture known as “Dooglers.” These are people who work for Google, and love dogs!

(9) Build-A-Bear Workshop

This is a Missouri company that is among those businesses that allow dogs to come to work. They require that their employees sign an agreement stating that their dogs will behave properly, but once assured, they will allow their employees to come to work with their dog. They even hold birthday parties for the dogs!

(10) Autodesk

Autodesk is a software company that makes design software for architects and engineers. The company encourages employees to bring their dogs to work. In fact, at times, there have been upwards of 25 dogs hanging around the plant! The company also offers pet insurance and other discounts.

(11) GoDaddy

GoDaddy is a web hosting company that encourages people to bring their dogs to work. The company believes that this fosters better mental health among employees, and I agree. The “brass” at GoDaddy take the position that having your dog at work reduces anxiety and stress, so they treat dogs as part of the company.

(12) Workday

Workday is another software company. They operate out of Salt Lake City, Pleasanton, and Victoria (Canada). They encourage employees to bring their dogs to work every day, and also have a special annual “Bring Your Dog to Work” party.

(13) Activision Blizzard

At Activision Blizzard, nearly 400 dogs go to work every day with their humans! All it takes is registering the dog with the management team. The company also connects people with providers of pet insurance. The company doesn’t have a formal policy in place for bereavement leave due to pet loss but is known to be very flexible.

The Final Word

I love the idea of being able to take dogs to work. Maybe if I’d been able to do it back in the day, I wouldn’t be freelancing right now. Or maybe I would; who knows! Either way, I can’t imagine anything better than taking your dog to work, and I wish that more companies would get onside with this.