Purrrfect Remote Pet Fails

For the animal-loving remote workers among us, every day is “bring your pet to work” day. They calm us down, cheer us up, and offer an ear for us to bend when our home workspace is devoid of other beings. But it’s not all frisbees in the park and pet-friendly coffee shops. Unlike human coworkers, pets don’t understand or sympathize with concepts like “personal space” or “quiet time,” and occasionally, their lovable nature turns mischievous, often at the most inopportune times.

Below are some fun pet fails from real remote workers:

Stay Calm and Chew On

Peter Shroeder (@petershroederr), head of marketing at Northpass, picked up an adorable mini Aussie shepherd that was just eight weeks old, only to realize the little guy–hilariously named Pando–simply couldn’t stand to be alone. During Peter’s remote team meetings from his home office, Pando could be heard howling from the adjacent room. The incessant noise was disruptive, to say the least, and tugged at Shroeder’s heartstrings. Calming Pando down unfortunately required some self-sacrifice, though.  “I’d have to let him chew on my finger for entire meetings, so he wouldn’t bark and cry! Eventually, I was able to train him not to bark and cry when he was in another room, but I had a pretty sore finger those first couple of weeks.” Ouch! As the saying goes, “love bites.”

Smile, You’re On Catnip Camera

We all know cats rule the Internet. They also rule the lives of their remote-working humans, usually with their mischievous shenanigans. Creative director Kristin Kretzler knows this all too well. Her senior kitty Skylar provokes instant reactions—almost always during video calls—through her catnip-like obsession with water.

“No matter how much water I put out for her, Skylar only wants what’s settled in cups and bowls that are in or near the sink. So, I’ll be on video call with someone and I’ll hear the clanking of dishes as they plummet from the counter into the sink, or as they fall over into each other. My eyes dart in the direction of the sound, my lips purse, and I know it must be so obvious that I’m not paying attention anymore.” Still, Skylar scores some bonus points for impressive jumping ability at an advanced age!

Dobermans Akimbo

Human coworkers can be annoying time-sucks, sure, but at least they don’t physically prevent you from doing work. Recently, when Buffer’s director of PR, Hailley Griffis (@hailleymari), wasn’t paying enough attention to her lovable Doberman “coworkers” Ed and Freyja on a typical workday, they weren’t too shy about letting her know it. The duo are quick to turn Hailley into literal arm rests…for their heads. And also for their toys. But who could resist those pleading eyes?!

Keeping the Unthinkable at Bay

There are few creatures with so iconic a sound as a beagle’s bay. Great if your job is to hunt pheasant; not exactly ideal when it’s podcasting from your home. Jay Acunzo (@jayacunzo), executive producer and host of Unthinkable, often finds himself with a show-stealing co-host: Nocci the beagle. Episode after episode, Nocci can be heard baying in the background. To his credit, Jay’s tried his best to avoid the canine raucous. “I’ve re-recorded, edited it out, thrown treats his way, put him outside, let him onto the bed, gave him elephant tranquilizers (ok, just kidding on that last one). My guy just wants to be podcast-level famous I guess.” Hey, with all the effort he seems to be putting in, maybe Nocci deserves the limelight after all.

They bark, they mew, they knock things over, they steal the spotlight and look adorable doing it. Even with the distractions and frustration they may cause, there’s still nothing quite like being able to squeeze or give a belly rub to your furry friend throughout the day.

Photo Credit: bigstockphoto.com

---

By Kristi DePaul | Categories: Work Remotely

---

Comments are closed.