If you read me regularly you will know of the four-legged love of my life, Theodore.

Having had him since he was 16 weeks old, he has grown into a loving, dopey floof-ball who loves attention and fuss from everyone he meets.

Our New Boy

Fast forward four years and he is (in my opinion) absolutely adorable and still loves to greet everyone.

Therefore it was a non-brainer to sign him up as a Wellbeing Dog at work.

A what?

Five months and Fluffy

Well, there was a post on the Intranet asking for volunteers who had well-behaved dogs that would like to join a team to focus on wellbeing and improving mental health in the workplace.

The intention would then be to visit departments upon their request and allow the staff to interact with the dogs and get a sense of joy and happiness from our pets.

Floofy!

Now I have to admit that I deliberated over whether to join the scheme as Theodore is a bit (massive understatement) stubborn and the intranet post had stated there would be an assessment of suitability.

I knew that if he was required to fetch, stay or be let off his lead, he would fail everything. Chow-Chows are notoriously difficult to train and Baba had failed puppy training as he would not even play with a toy!

His First Toy (he still has it)

So it was a nervous Monday morning when we arrived for his assessment. Meeting Steve, the tester he was quite excitable and this initially got worse when we went around the corner and saw a handful of other dogs.

This wasn’t a good start as he was already bouncing around the other dogs which were all much smaller than he was.

Thankfully he soon got tired out and happily lay on the cool ground watching everything go on around him whilst the other dogs bounced and yapped at each other.

Winter Baby

This meant he looked really well behaved when the assessor came around!

One by one, we were taken into the busiest, nosiest department. The intention was to observe and listen to how the dog interacted with people and also how they interact with the dog.

Guard Duty

Now as Theodore is a complete Love-Muppet, he went to every single person for attention. He even popped into two small offices to make sure he hadn’t missed anyone out.

When our time was over, the assessor took us out of the department into the fresh air. I didn’t know if there was anything else that would be required so I was absolutely stunned when Steve just uttered one sentence –

“It’ll be an extra-large coat Theodore will be needing then?”

I’m Strutting

I excitedly asked if he had really passed and was reassured that Theodore did cut the mustard, indeed.

Steve gave me some feedback which I will always treasure. He stated “Theodore was born to do this”. He went on to say that he had stopped watching Theodore and I, and concentrated on the staff in the department and how they reacted to Theodore.

Getting Floofier

They gravitated towards him and were entranced by his fluff and smiley face. He thought that we would make a great wellbeing team.

Well, I felt like crying with both pride and shock.

The way the service works is that a department can request a visit from the team. The request is then sent to the nine members of the team to see who can cover the visit.

Champagne Chow-lie

On the day in question, the doggy duo attend the department who has requested the visit and spend an hour or so providing such facilities as slobbery kisses, paw shakes, hand licks and furry cuddles.

Depending on the breed of dog, those furry cuddles can be smooth, medium or as in Theodores case, Super-Floofy.

Snow Dog

All members of the team are given a ‘tabard’ to wear with the logo of the scheme, OK9 on it. It also has ‘Wellbeing Dog’ on it, so that people are aware of the special job the dogs do.

Now one of the first appointments that Theodore was involved with was not actually in my regular workplace. It was a few hours away in Manchester at a meeting of the powers that be!

Grumpy Little Lion

We drove to the Convention Centre on a wet Wednesday morning, parked up and entered the building. All eyes turned our way as Theodore and Ottie strutted their stuff.

Ottie is another dog on the same scheme as Theodore; a beautiful brown spaniel with fluffy hair. An absolutely gorgeous dog with a wonderful temperament.

Awesome Ottie

We spent most of the day talking about the scheme and how it works, in an effort to encourage other places to join and improve the wellbeing of their staff.

I have to admit, everyone was extremely impressed and keen to talk to us. Well, that might have been a little white lie; clearly the dogs were the star attraction and pulled the bosses in with their brilliantness. In all seriousness, they were fantastic and did the service proud.

Pleased As Punch!

Hopefully they will have convinced some more bosses to join and improve the wellbeing of their staff too. It is such a valuable service!

Till next time,

SPSG xxx