Some days we have an office dog. He comes in with one of the developers, occasionally, and stays in the office during the day.

A small terrier of some sort, he is small and cute and very non-threatening. He is very well-behaved, quiet and discreet. He is guardedly friendly without ever being intrusive. He goes from desk to desk and sits down and waits for contact. If I stop petting him before he feels done, he sidles a bit closer, but never actually touches me himself.

After repeated visits and cautiously getting acquainted, we’ve gotten to the point in our relationship where he lets me move him and lift him up. The thing is, he approaches me from the right, because there is a wall on my left, but I kind of need my right hand for working. I like scratching him but I do need to keep working as well. I can now lift him up so he sits on my lap and gets scratched while I work.

He is very good for general developer well-being, and I wish he was here more often. Some people have service dogs; hospitals have service animals. I’m pretty sure that office workers would be happier at work if offices had well-behaved office dogs.