Why Penny and Reba Stayed Home

It’s national Take Your Dog to Work Day. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

I have two dogs, the always-ready-to-do-anything Penny, a miniature pinscher or min-pin, and Reba, otherwise known as Reba Nell McIntyre, the mixed black lab and Darling Daughter’s latest rescue project, who came to my house cause DD (Darling Daughter) thinks I need an outside dog. I don’t.

Back to Penny, the irascible mini-pin. When I adopted Penny, people in the know kept saying, “You don’t want a min-pin, really. You really, really don’t want a min-pin.”

“But she’s so cute,” I responded, and I took her on anyway. And I really, really do want her. I just don’t want that min-pin personality. Well, OK. I do. I mean, you got to adopt the whole package, and min-pins, as tiny as they are, are a really, really big package. Penny has an opinion about everything, which she announces often. She barks incessantly when it’s time to eat and I’m a bit late delivering. She doesn’t like loud thunder storms. She doesn’t like cats, even though she has to live with two. She will destroy the home in an attempt to escape. And, she’s allergic to fleas, which results in large vet bills.

So, if I brought her to work, how would that go? She would bring fleas with her. No amount of flea pills or meds seem to help. Someone would have to guard the office door constantly, because mini Penny can duck out a door faster than lightning. If she doesn’t get what she thinks she needs – water or a bowl full of food – she will stare you in the eye and bark, and bark, and bark, and . . . good grief. She will not cuddle up, unless it’s storming. Her favorite game is run and chase. She does the running. I do the chasing. The whole office crew would more than likely be chasing Penny all over town. It took the animal control officer and an armed police officer to catch the little runaway before I adopted her in the first place. And she will not lay down to take a nap. Min-pin personalities mean they are always on the move, and must investigate everything. You don’t get to cuddle and pet. You just sit there and watch them zoom zoom from room to room. It’s amazing.

Penny has min-pin personality plus, and she has two tricks that tickle everyone who knows her. If she likes you, she will give you a high five, over and over and over. Everybody thinks that is so cute, until they have to do it over and over and over, because that’s what Penny does when she wants to be petted. Petted? That’s extraordinary too. This is how it’s done. Penny must be picked up, laid out on her back in your arms like a human infant, and her tummy must be rubbed incessantly. This will cause Penny to swoon and go to sleep instantly. But don’t stop, or the min-pin wakes up and the chase is on.

Now Reba, the black lab mix, is a different matter. She’s old and sleepy. If I brought her to work, she would first look for the nearest water, take a drink and try to get into the water container. If she doesn’t fit, she will look for a cool spot and sleep the rest of the day. I almost brought Reba to work on Take Your Dog to Work Day, not because she’s old and sleepy, and little trouble. It’s because her newest choice for the best place to sleep on a hot day is in my new strawberry bed! No Reba! And yelling “No Reba!” doesn’t seem to help at all. My newest weekend chore is to find Reba-safe fence to install around the few strawberries I have left, and to find some new strawberry plants. Oh no Reba.

A quick search of why we should bring our dogs to work reveals that studies show dogs may help ease depression and emotional disorders. Well, only if you don’t like strawberries and love fleas and chase-your-dog games. Otherwise, you may development some emotional disorders.

Others say it’s good to bring your dog to work because it encourages your co-workers to adopt a canine from the local animal shelter. Uh, after experiencing my two dogs, my co-workers would probably insist upon a cat. Which is OK too.

So no, I did not bring either one of my two to the office on Take our Dog to Work Day. I figured my co-workers would enjoy the peace of a dog-free work day. I know I do.