How do you feel about office pets?

As much as I love dogs. I say that that they are "No Go" in the office. I unfortunately have severe allergies and 15 minutes in a room with a cat and certain breads of dogs.....I'm sure you get the picture.

People are very opinionated on their favorite pets and you don't want to offend anyone upon entering your business. Then you also take the chance of running into liability issues. What if your pet bites or scratches someone, then you have the potential for a law suit and all sorts of problems. Also what if you are in the middle of meeting with a client and your pet needs to take a walk outside and has an accident in your office, again, I'm sure you get the picture.

I hate to be a "debbie downer", err on the side of your customers and leave your pet at home.

Andy,
I like pets too. Most days I work from home with a cat across my desk. However, the earlier post makes some good points. There are many people with allergies and you don't want a situation where a potential client can't come into your office because of your pet.

However, if you don't often have visitors, and if no one who works with you has an allergy, then it could be a nice addition. Many companies allow employees to bring their pets to the office as a perk or benefit. You just want to make sure it doesn't disrupt your business or cause any problems for your employees/clients.

Hi Andy,
I travel to many companies conducting training sessions and have encountered several companies with dogs in the office. It can be a disruption if the animals are allowed to wander. When I find this to be happening and the particpants' attention is more focused on the animal, I will ask that the pet be moved elsewhere.

This has happened only a few times. Most owners will have put their pet in another room to keep the distractions to a minimum.

I've observed that the employees overall accept the animal being around. Most of the sites have very little guests so it doesn't seem to be an issue.

At the companies that have a front desk and receive guests, I have seen the visitors be taken aback or have shown concern when the dog comes bounding out.

One other point - the animals belong to the owner - the employees don't bring their pets to the office...

My personal opinion is to leave the pet at home.