Thanks to Pet Sitters International and a decision that they made in 1999, we can celebrate Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 25 (National Today).

This day was created so that businesses might allow dogs to be in workplaces to show their companionship to their owners as well as to promote their adoptions from local shelters, rescue groups and humane societies. By bringing dogs to work, coworkers who don’t have dogs can witness firsthand how a dog could be a great pet to love. It is hoped that this will also make them want to go to an adoption center and consider finding dogs of their own.

In some places, this day can also be used to promote communication and teamwork. Dogs could be an ice breaker with coworkers and provide opportunities for conversation starters beyond the topics usually shared at the workplace. Companies like to know what their workers care about and most care about dogs, so the companies can benefit by getting involved from a community outreach perspective and from employee engagement point of view.

Some rescue groups allow people to bring their foster dogs to the workplace with the idea of showing them off and broadening the number of individuals who might see them as potential pets.

If you are not going to work on Take Your Dog to Work Day, you can still take your dog to a different workplace, perhaps a restaurant with a patio or a hardware store where dogs are welcome guests, so the workers there can enjoy their company.