It's a Dog's Life

When I left the corporate world almost nine years ago, I didn't know of anyone, with the exception of small business owners, who took their dogs to work. Now it is a perk in a few companies.
It is one I enjoy everyday. And I don't have to worry about transporting them or if they'll get along with other people's dogs. And having three of them, I don't have to worry about the 1-dog limit.
When I worked away from home, we just had Hershey. We adopted her when she was nearly 7 years old and she was definitely a 2-people dog. If I could've taken her to work, she probably would have been banned for not being able to play well with others. She was one tempermental weiner dog.
But she was used to staying by herself and while she didn't like it, she went to the kitchen every morning when I got ready to leave. There, with a hard floor and some papers, her toys, food and water, she would wait until one of us came home. When a series of daytime home invasions shook our neighborhood, we worried not for our house and belongings, but what they might do to Hershey should they choose our house. We installed an alarm system.
When I started working at home, Hershey was thrilled, I could tell. I moved her bed beside me and she laid there all day when I worked. There was one thing, although she exhibited no signs of separation anxiety when I had to leave her all day before, she behaved very badly when we left her for even short periods after I started working at home.
As old age crept in, I was able to care for her on the bad days and watch her sleep on her good ones. When her kidneys failed her and she left us, I didn't have to try to explain to a boss why I couldn't go to work that day - or the rest of that week.
My dogs are my work companions, they comfort me and inspire me. I've learned to work around the times the school bus, trash man and mailman sends them into barking fits. They alert me when it's time for a break (crackers for me and a bone for them) and tell me when the FedX man is here with a package - or better yet, a check.
Emma, Molly and Dakota - the Terrible Trio - are three more reasons its great to be a stay-at-home writer.