Thoughts & Deeds

I’ve been lucky over the years to work for companies and in offices that allow me to bring my dog to work. Portland is definitely a dog-oriented town and having pooches in the office seems like a right and not a perk for many people. At past jobs, I knew things were really going downhill when dogs were banned from the workplace; it starts with banning dogs and ends in reduced benefits or salaries and a generally demoralized culture.

One of the many great things about running my own business is that I can bring my dog to work whenever I want. Often, my one dilemma about bringing Josie – my loveable, energetic 3-year-old German Shepherd/Lab mix – is that having her at work means driving my car instead of biking. I hate driving to work, even though the parking is free. It makes me feel so lazy! And it means that Josie doesn’t always get the exercise she needs in a day, so she’s antsy under my desk all day.

A few months ago, Kathy and I wondered if we could combine biking with exercising Josie and experimented with tying her leash to my seatpost and going for a spin around the neighborhood. Success! Though that worked pretty well, it didn’t feel that safe. So we bought a Walky Dog bike attachment, which is the most amazing dog exercise gadget of all time. We started taking Josie for bike rides whenever she really needed a good dog-speed sprint. A tired dog is happy, well-behaved dog! This got me to thinking about biking to work with her, since she’d get to run three miles each way, I’d still get to bike, and we’d combine her morning walk with my morning commute. Win-win-win!

Yesterday marked our inaugural Bike n’ Bark ride to the office. It worked! Josie was a pooped pooch for a good while at the office and had a lot of fun running home. I love that I have enough bike routes options for getting to work that I can choose one that’s safe for me and the dog. I love living in a city that makes biking a priority. I love living in a dog-friendly town. And I love that people smile when they see us!

Josie and I will definitely be biking to work more often!

Sometimes, I learn about teamwork and collaboration in the least likely places. In the two years that I’ve been a volunteer dog walker at the Oregon Humane Society, I’ve walked with four different teams and had varying experiences on each.

The dog walking schedule is broken down into morning and evening “teams” that work on getting all the dogs out for a break during the day. OHS asks volunteers to commit to walking on a regular schedule so they can count on who will come and know the dogs will get a little exercise. … more