Co-workers. The other family we don’t really get to choose.
Fortunately, around here we’re surrounded by some really good folks. Committed to their jobs, dedicated to the customer, and just bat-guano crazy enough to make it interesting.
Today, however, we welcome a few new co-workers into our space and we gotta say, these rookies are the best colleagues we’ve ever had.
Take Your Dog to Work Day is in full swing, and the Badlands K9 Corps is out in full effect.
Let’s face it, the great outdoors just isn’t that great without a faithful companion by your side.
There are the hunters: We’ve got Newman, the pheasant-hunting Lab parked in one office, checking everyone walking by for signs of a bird. Meanwhile, Rogue, the Treeing Walker Coonhound who tenaciously hunts down every critter (except racoons, oddly enough), is patrolling every window protecting us from squirrels and songbirds.
We have the lovers, like Gus the Goldendoodle puppy, who is over in the corner doing…. Well, just doing damn cute puppy things. On the other side of the size spectrum lies Maple the Bernese Mountain Dog, who spends her day critiquing all the creative work.
And then we have Gibbs, the senior Beagle of the group. He’s currently snoozing on a dog bed, occasionally dreaming of chasing rabbits and periodically gassing us all out of the building.
No matter the breed, the pedigree or the dietary GI issues, we love our dogs and love having them out with us. Sometimes they are critical partners on a hunt (cause we AIN’T wading out after that duck). Sometimes they just sit with us around the campfire. Sometimes it even seems like we’re the ones accompanying them on their adventure.
Seriously, have you ever watched a really good dog work a field for ringnecks? If that’s not a canine having the time of his or her life, I don’t know what is. Our singular goal in life is to enjoy something as much as that dog loves drumming up roosters.
One of the few perks of working from home the past few months has been the time spent with our favorite co-workers. For them, this has been the most magical time ever and they don’t want it to end.
And, if we’re honest, on some level we don’t either. We love being back together with our Badlands crew and seeing all the magic happen. But we also love the snoring broken up by the occasional dreamy yip, the warm head placed on our leg seeking a pet, even the random barking fit as a robin dares (DARES) to land on the porch railing.
The periodic gas attacks? Heaven help us, we even miss that.
It’s just not the same when Judd does it. It just isn’t. Please stop.
So, here’s to the four-legged sidekicks out there. You keep us motivated, you keep us entertained, and most importantly, you keep us sane.
And that is truly a job best-served by human’s best friend.
