Does anyone have an office dog on property?

I would love to hear stories about how it worked out! The reason I started thinking about this was because of a great picture I saw about a dog used to calm kids down at the dentist:

And then I started thinking about how the same concept is used in nursing homes, and I realized that it would be great to have a dog to help calm down an upset resident, as well. Is it even possible to yell while you are petting a dog? And it might be a fun way to keep kids entertained during the leasing process, maybe even allowing them to walk the dog during the tour.

Any stories out there?

No dog. I have had customers and residents terrified of any animal.

I went to a pain clinic where they had a comfort dog.

The dog came into the room where I was waiting for the doctor and stood right in front of me as if he knew how much pain I was in from my arthritis.

Huge German Shepherd. I loved it.

I was curious how locations that had a comfort dog handled those that had a fear of dogs...

I would love for this to work. However, we had a cat take up residence at our front door and so many residents would call and make us come outside to meet them. You would be surprised how many people are scared of animals. I think its not worth the risk. Just my opinion.

Now, nobody hate me. I am not a cat person, not really, not exactly. But someone abandoned a cat at the Section 8 property and the Manager brought her to the office where the cat promptly adopted me. I named her Isabel. She would wait in my Office window for me when I went on showings for the other conventional property and happily purred on my lap when I would sit at the desk. I would take her home with me on extended weekends when the office was closed.

Be prepared to alienate people with dog allergies. I for one would not be able to stay in that office for more than 10 minutes. For those of you here that think people are scared have you considered they may be allergic? Cats and dogs in a confined space can leave me congested and miserable for the rest of the day.

Pets on property is a 2 edged sword:

1) You could have people specifically looking for it because they have a furry roommate and want to keep it.
2) You could have people specifically looking for it so they can avoid it for fear of animals or pet allergies.


There are also concerns about pets in common areas. If you allow pets on property, but not in common areas; how do you reconcile that with a 'community pet' in the office?

I am severely allergic to dogs. I am unable to breathe as soon as they get in my airspace. I don't mind responsible pet owners, but I have several residents that insist on bringing their dirty, wet dogs into my office, ignoring my inability to breathe and frantic search for my inhaler.

One pours the ENTIRE candy dish into her purse while she sits and rests so her dog can run round the office to get exercise, because it's just too taxing for her to walk her dog outside. One comes to DEMAND that IMMEDIATE action be taken to alleviate whatever complaint she has that day (i.e. we MUST force the maintenance tech to give up smoking cigarettes on his own time after work.) One of them refuses to leash her large dog, who runs to jump on anyone she sees, including several people with small, anxious dogs, small children, and a few people who are terrified of dogs. The other one let her dog POOP in the hallway on the carpet and didn't even bother to clean it up!

I'm very glad we have a strict pet policy.

I do not do candy dishes in my office... I will opt for fresh fruit instead. I usually pick it up daily on my way in from the gym.

I hear you about having residents that DEMAND that something be done to solve whatever issue right that minute... I had a resident that would always start a conversation with 2 words: 'You BETTER....' without even asking if I knew about the problem or was already working on it... She was the one that called the press and the housing authority to report the property wide bedbug problem.... AFTER the manager at the time already knew about the problem and WAS working on a plan of action, whether it was talking to the corporate office, the property owner, or any of a number of vendors seeking bids and advice..... Guess what? Whenever the press or someone from the housing authority called or came by, this person had to stop whatever it was they were doing to work on the project right then and there to respond to the person and it delayed the solution being put into place.... Needless to say; when she turned in her notice to vacate, we closed the office for 10 minutes and did the happy dance in private.....

As far as pets not on leash and residents not cleaning up after them, that is a behavior issue on the part of the resident and may even be a violation of local ordinance. I would not single any one resident out (unless I had direct knowledge); I would send out a 'rules reminder' to all residents to gently remind them of their responsibilities in terms of keeping their furry roommates.