Are these Canberra’s cutest office pets?
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Let’s face it. This has been a stressful summer.
We’ve had devastating bushfires, unbreathable air, dust storms and floods. And now there’s COVID-19 and a national toilet paper panic to top it off.
Many of us started the year decidedly haggard and unrelaxed. I was feeling this myself. Until my dear friend and business colleague, Sue, left her new puppy, Rosie, with me at my home office for the day. Isn’t she cute?!
Ginger and Rosie.
Bingo! Little Rosie bounded around full of joy and my mood instantly lifted. She snuggled into my lap to nap while I smashed out a social media policy for a client.
Turns out that it’s not just my imagination that pets at work decrease stress and increase joy and productivity. There’s even research here and here to prove it.
Canberra has its own share of fluffy office friends. I’ve gone and found five of our most outstanding work companions, so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.
Sparkles the Wonder Dog
Sparkles the Wonder Dog.
Sparkles, who is nearly eight years old but is still a puppy at heart, owns a human some people might know as Michael Milton, Paralympic legend. This gorgeous poodle hangs out at Quizzic Alley, a store in Fyshwick which sells licensed Harry Potter merchandise.
Micahel says: “Sparkles greets everyone who comes in the door, whether they like it or not. She particularly likes to lick men’s knees! Plus, we have a lot of kids visiting Quizzic Alley every weekend. Not all kids like dogs and Sparkles LOOOOVVVEEEEESS everyone too much.” (This is his actual quote—I did not make it up!)
“Most customers love her instantly and some kids roll around on the floor with her. She brings real magic to people who visit our store and she is often recognised when we are out…She also makes a point of clearing the potions classroom floor of any leftover party snacks.”
“Sometimes this doesn’t work out so well. Sparkles recently ate a sample chocolate cake on the sly.
“We would not have known except that she had bright green icing all over her ears. Chocolate is toxic to dogs, so we rushed her to the vet where it cost $180 to make her vomit,” Michael says.
Jet the Black German Shepherd
Jet.
Jet, who is also nearly eight years old, is a specially bred black German Shepherd dog. He owns a human called Lisa LaMaitre, Principal Practitioner at her business, Therapy Masters in Canberra city. This is where Jet hangs out during office hours. She describes him as “…our gentle giant, weighing in at around 45kg.”
“We lost his sister and littermate, Mojo suddenly in July 2017,” explains Lisa. “They were co-dependent and we didn’t want to leave him at home by himself.
“He quickly took to the ride in the car and spending the day in the clinic. He loves going on ‘adventures’ and you’ll get the iconic shepherd head tilt from him if you say the word adventure, followed by crazy barking and full-body spins.
“Everyone just gravitates to him. He instantly puts a smile on people’s faces. The normal comments we receive are: ‘What is he?’ ‘I’ve never seen one of those before’ ‘He looks like a wolf.’”
Lisa tells me that other tenants in the same building often stop in to cuddle her dog—and her clients love him too.
“He likes to be part of the consult discussion with client’s when they first arrive. Apparently, he likes to give his approval for their treatment plan! He then goes and has a nap, before returning to wait outside the treatment room. It sounds strange but he’s excellent at knowing the time when the treatment will finish!”
Wally the Wolfhound cross and Lilli the King Charles Cavalier
These two fabulous dogs hang out at a shared creative workspace in Dairy Road Fyshwick, called Keep Co.
Anna Trundle is Co-founder and Community Manager and she is owned by three-year-old Wally, who “comes in a few times a month for our regular member’s puppy playdates.”
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One-year-old Lilli, on the other hand, owns a human called Korske from Lucent Imaging. He’s the other founder of Keep Co. Naturally, both Lilli and Wally have their own Instagrams.
“Lilli arrived when she was just six weeks old, so Keep Co is pretty much her home,” says Anna. “Wally came in when we started building the space in November 2018—so they both know the ropes very well! Wally gets pretty excited when he sees us drive through the gates to Dairy Road as he knows he’s about to get a whole lot of playtime with his mates and cuddles from our members when he arrives.”
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Keep Co is pretty much just like the set of 101 Dalmatians, as Anna explains it: “The other doggos in our space come and go as often as their owners have the capacity to bring them in to hang out with us. Other regulars [apart from Lilli and Wally] are Stanley the border collie, Peppi the Cavoodle, Chilli the Pomeranian, Roman the rottweiler, and our neighbours at Blochaus and Vertikal Snowsports let us hang out with all their doggo friends all the time (Labradors, Staffies, German shepherds, Sauso dogs—the lot!).”
This includes new recruit Rufus, who just joined the Keep Co office last week. He owns Rosalie Iannelli from Good Day PR.
Rufus.
“Having our dogs around in the space has its challenges, but we’re all about community—and community is about being understanding, making compromises, and enjoying the company of others. So for us, it’s a no brainer and we set out to be dog-friendly from the moment we opened our doors over a year ago.
“They’re great ice breakers for new faces in the space, an excellent diversion from emails and admin, an excuse to get outside and enjoy some sunshine, and so loved by all our members—we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Anna says.
Ripper the carnivorous duck, six koalas plus a load more native animals
OK, strictly speaking, these aren’t pets. However, the wildlife out at Tidbinbilla does certainly relieve our stress and some of these critters are pretty cute.
Dr. Sarah May is the Wildlife Team Leader of the Threatened Species Programme at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Her work focuses on conserving diversity and establishing insurance populations of the critically endangered animals such as the Southern Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, Northern Corroboree Frog, and Eastern Bettong.
“Without this level of intervention and management these animals would likely go extinct in the wild,” she says.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to work here. I get a free, natural mood-boost just arriving to work. The first breath of that wonderful, uniquely Australian smell of eucalyptus is delicious. I also have daily interactions and relationships with many of the animals under our care within the reserve. They are all a source of delight and comfort and contribute to my well-being in more ways than I can adequately convey.”
Sarah found it hard to name just a couple of animals but as her favourites but eventually said: “Ripper is a musk duck and is my favourite Sanctuary resident. These ducks are carnivorous, which is kind of cool for a duck. Ripper is ‘a little ripper’, though his name comes from how he rips apart his fish! I enjoy feeding him and he makes me smile when I see that he’s so excited to see me—his mood rubs off on me!
“He’s so incredibly perky with a very cheeky face. He is also one very lucky little ducky as he is one of two animals that survived the devastating 2003 bushfires.”
She also named “…Jed, Yellow, Scully, Billa, Gulu, and the little Joey are our resident koalas and I love all of them. Of course, everyone adores these koalas but when you spend a lot of time with them you see how distinct their personalities and characters are, even if it’s all in typical koala ‘slo-mo’.”
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“I am a conservation biologist but having the chance to get to know wild or undomesticated animals on an individual basis, is the cherry on top of what is already a job I am passionate about. These animals reinforce my connection with the natural world and remind me daily of the importance of protecting it; something I believe most people who work or visit here feel as well.”
Have we missed any? Let us know in the comments below or by tagging us in pictures of your favourite office pets on Instagram (@hercanberra)
If you’re thinking of taking your dog to work, check out this RSPCA Guide first.
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