For a while I worked at a place where they allowed dogs in the office. It’s probably not for everyone it but I personally felt this have the workplace a very nice touch and made it much more humane.
I find it extremely distracting. When there is a dog around, you'll always find a bunch of people throwing the ball with it or something like that in the middle of the open space.
And there is of course the dog owner who just doesn't care where the dog is. Doesn't care that it's coming to my desk to lick my shoes, or bothering me while I'm trying to eat in the kitchen.
Purely based on empirical observations (so, it's worth what it's worth) I feel like dog owners automatically assume that everyone else loves dogs as much as they do. They care very little about people who are scared, allergic, disgusted, etc.
Of course there is. Emotional support animals are now being offered as an alternative to medication.
I feel the same way about people who have kids.
Despite being allergic to dogs I loved having dogs at my workplace...and miss it as no dogs at my new work.
I understand why people would not appreciate it. We had good rules and good owners. The dogs stayed in the owners office most of the day and only visited those who wanted to see them.
At least in my office almost everyone was happy to see the dogs.
There's your problem. You work in a bullpen. Dogs are one of many triggers for problems in bullpens.
But this dog is fantastic! I think I've heard him bark like 2x in the 3 years I've been there, he's quite laid-back and wanders around the office but is more likely to follow the CEO around and lay at his feet or he sleeps outside the conference room when the CEO is in meetings. He will come to the kitchen when people are in it, but he has been trained to stay out of it so he just sits at the door.
I love, love, love having him in the office and I think everyone else does too (but now I'm hoping there aren't people adversely affected that don't speak up). Even when the CEO is traveling, sometimes his wife will drop him off for the day because the dog is so chill and people like the interaction, will take him on walks around the business park, etc.
There's your problem right there
1) Dogs like to poop. A lot. Even with a responsible owner, if the dog runs around the office frequently, they would poop, and someone would step in it, and that is gross.
2) Dogs like to bark. Most dogs are fine, but occasionally there would be one that wouldn't shut up and get them all started.
After a few months, they got rid of the policy.
If you ask experienced dog trainers, they would all tell you that pooping and barking can be fixed with proper training for pretty much any dog.
The biggest problem we had were allergies. There was an eventual compromise with dogs only allowed in specific conference rooms that had air purifiers running.
Like dogs, some people just don't shut up, and once two people are talking, the rest often don't see much reason to stay quiet, since the silence has already been broken.
For cats, you want to look for breeds that produce less Fel D1 protein. There is probably something similar for dogs.
One office I once interviewed at had the CEO's dog roaming around and I had to decline the job offer for this reason. I'm sure that I could have talked about it but nobody wants to be the one who kicks the office dog out.
Ultimately, each company has to make its own decision about whether to prioritize those who are allergic to pets or those who wish to bring pets in the office. There are costs and benefits to each.
Why wouldn't it be useful? Pet allergies can trigger anaphylaxis which can result in death.
Allergies to dogs and cats affect 10%–20% of the population[1]. That's a big chunk of the workforce you are cutting away from your company.
Purchasing a hypoallergenic animal for the office's pet is simply being responsible.
The only time I saw animals roaming freely in an office was the office pet and those should be hypoallergenic.
We have estimated that the increase in the number of visits for acute asthma care for adults with dog allergies who live with dogs could add up to $0.5 to $1.0 billion per year to the cost of care. Our control over the global economy is reaching new heights every day.
The anaphylaxis thing isn't a reasonable point at all, since people for whom that's the case will self select out of working at offices that have pets.
Which is exactly my point. In my opinion, it is a waste to exclude 10% to 20% of the workforce to entertain the few people who really want to bring pets to the office.
There's also the important to mention fact that adult-onset allergies exist. Allergies can appear suddenly and you would end up with an employee who needs to leave the company for medical reason.
Some people might not be made aware of the presence of animals until it's too late to turn back.
This has happened to me in the past. I only was made aware of the presence of a dog late in the hiring process. They had me tour the office and it's only when the dog randomly passed by that they told me "and this is [dog name] our office dog".
Suffice to say I'm not working there - and dogs don't even trigger death inducing symptoms for me (cats however do). I may have skewed perceptions of my own value, but I think it is their loss.
Ultimately, it's a question of whether they want to comply with the ADA or not when considering which to prioritize.
Under Title III of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and virtually all state laws, a service animal is an animal that has been trained to perform work or tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability
In both the ADA and Section 504, a person with a disability is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that seriously limits one or more major life activities, or who is regarded as having such impairments. Asthma and allergies are usually considered disabilities under the ADAThis may be an unrealistic scenario, but it's at least an interesting hypothetical.