The thumbnail version:
- It’s a common occurrence
- Print shop pets have been around for decades
The full version:
Every month for over six years. Images Magazine has had a column, Print Shop Pooches, in which dogs at garment decorating shops are featured. It’s a popular aspect of the magazine because pets have been an endearing feature of this industry for a long time.
Many an article has been written about the positive impact of a pet at work. One of their important roles is stress relief.

Relaxing at the office.
There are of course times when they need managing such as in the case of people who are allergic to or afraid of animals. And you don’t want them making a nuisance of themselves at meetings. For instance, a cat strolling across meeting room table during a serious discussion is not a great idea. Then there can be other issues too such as I mentioned in the excerpt from my book, Characters Who Can Make or Break Your Small Business . . .
“If asked, I’m sure former employees would say that I didn’t always practice what I preach (with regard to pet management at the office). They’ll probably mention meetings when five or six of us would be gathered around the table with both my Jack Russells dozing under it. Jack Russells seek human company, particularly a crowd; my two would never miss a meeting.
It would all have been fine if Cassie, four years older than Ryley, didn’t have an occasional stomach-churning flatulence problem. She knew it, and she knew that we knew it. She also knew that shortly after an emission there would be a very unfavourable vocal reaction followed by a scrambling evacuation of the room. So, as might be expected from a dog of her intelligence, she would slink out of the room immediately after a gaseous emission and be well clear before it wafted up and caused predictable mayhem and scorn.
It might sound like a gross encroachment on my employees’ tolerance, but it really didn’t happen too often and, in any case, one learns to adapt. Ryley learned to leave the room as soon as Cassie did, and I learned to quickly adjourn a meeting if I saw the two of them sneaking out.”
If you have a printshop pet story to tell, we’d like to feature it here. Let us know.