Let’s face it. Dogs are tops. And bringing your dog along to work can make the day go faster and seem brighter.

Seems I’m not alone in my thinking.

In fact, Pet Sitters International has been running a “Take Your Dog to Work Day” every year since 1999.

And they’re bursting out of their furry britches to get businesses on board.

Swell idea all round if you ask me. At my work, we have a “one dog a week” policy and Benny is regularly the participating pooch. He loves it and so do our clients.

It’s a good size office with enough space for me to chuck him a ball occasionally, plus we’ve laid down a few ground rules like:

• “Dogs must not smell”;
• “Dogs must be office/house trained”; and
• “Dogs must be on a leash when coming and going” to make sure no one will feel put out by the pup’s presence.

This Friday, June 20 is the official “Take Your Dog to Work Day” and this site has all the information you need to get involved, get informed and get educated with some excellent handy downloads on the best way to “responsibly take your dog to work”.

To move things along, the site also provides a “top ten things to say to convince your boss” listing things like point 9: Wagging tails work great when the air conditioner is on the blink.

It’s not fair is it? As if your furry pal wasn’t having a rough enough trot as it was, now his favourite livery, chickeny treats have got to be scratched from the menu. And you know it’s for his own good, but how can you tell him that?

Weep no longer!

Now, I’m not one for a bake off; my scones are like rocks and my sponges sag, but even I reckon I could whip up a tray of these treats for an unwell pal using  prescription diet products.

So don your baking mitts, unleash the mixing bowl and bake with the vision of your favourite furry chowing down a few “acceptable” treats on Christmas day.

Home Baked Treats using a “Wet” (Canned) Prescription Diet Product

1. Preheat your oven at 180 degrees
2. Tip your pet’s can of prescription diet onto a carving board
3. Cut into bite-sized pieces using a sharp, clean knife
4. Place the pieces on a baking tray and place in your preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a desired texture is reached.
5. Cool and store the treats in your refrigeration for no longer than 5-7 days.

Home Baked Treats using a “Dry” (Bagged) Prescription Diet Product

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
2. Grind the kibble (biscuits) into flour using a blender.
3. Mix with enough water to form a pliable dough, just like pastry!
4. Roll the dough flat on a chopping board and cut into treat-sized pieces using a clean sharp knife. If you have a pastry tool, (even better in the shape of a bone or fish), cut the shapes out using the tool.
5. Place the pieces on a baking tray and place in your preheated oven
   for approximately 30 minutes until crisp.
6. Cool and store the treats in your refrigeration for no longer than 5-7 days.

Just keep an eye on unsuspecting guests in case they try to sneak one of your cooling tray of “gingerbreads” while you’re not looking!

I’ve started working from out of home in a non pet-friendly office building. 

Sigh.

Benny doesn’t have his stay at home friend and I don’t get to hang out with my best barking buddy either.

Double sigh.

Dave on the other hand, runs his own business from a studio up the road with his partner and a daschund called Peanut.  And before Dave took up the healthy Melbourne pastime of cycling, he could bundle Benny into the car and Peanut and Benny could spend the best part of the day making out amongst the computer cords.

Romantic!

But what do we do with Benny now that Dave’s considering a hot lycra wardrobe and best ways to display his newly chiselled calves?

I mean, Benny just hates lycra and it’s hard to get a cycling helmet to fit his ears.

(P.S. Benny was only wearing this helmet for the photoshoot for a little under five seconds and got heaps of yummy doggy treats to thank him too.  Just so’s you know.)

I’m thinking that a well designed DoggyBike riding Backpack could fit the bill.  But I reckon it’ll need these features:

• Made of strong, good quality materials;
• The body should be mesh as opposed to rubber lined for easy breathing;
• Comfortable for the rider/back (It takes Dave about a half hour to get to work, and he’s going to be carrying 8 kgs (plus work stuff in his panniers) on his bike;
• Comfortable for the dog — no awkward positions or crinkled spines;
• Secure so that the dog doesn’t jump out;
• The right size (Benny weighs around 17 pounds.  Interestingly, although he’s not a big boy, most backpacks only cater up to 15 to 16 pounds.)

And I’m proud of myself. For once in my shopping life, colours and even looks don’t even rate.  Dave and Benny’s safety is actually much more important.

Over the past month, I’ve been checking out “pup pack” options in Melbourne pet shops and haven’t been impressed.  A lot of them appear kinda “toyish”, lacking the requisite structure and safety features.  So I’ve started searching the web to find out what else might be available by post.

I’ve found two that on paper look like they will match Dave and Benny’s needs.

The first is the Dog Gone Device which is adjustable, comes with an attachable headpiece and looks like it could be a comfy fit.

And the second is the Snoozer Wheel Around which turns into an adjustable backpack.

Both cost around $60 - $100 US which I think is reasonable enough.

Of course, buying anything off the internet without seeing it, is always a bit of a risk, and obviously it’ll be Dave who has the final say, but I promise to get back to you when we get our package in the mail.

Any readers with advice?

You know, at first I didn’t get this gadget.  To me it looked over engineered and amoral to boot.

Hell, half the world’s starving and your dog’s getting carried about in air conditioned comfort!  C’mon!

But then, as seems to happen a lot in my world, I found myself eating my own words.  We got a dog and one that on a hot summer’s day won’t do much else apart from lie in the shade sipping Mint Juleps.  Which is okay, except when we need take him somewhere in our hugely reliable but uncomfortably unair-conditioned Honda.

You should see him pant.

And boy this ice queen of a carrier looks swell at these hot moments in time when Benny’s eyes are rolling backwards in his head from the heat and there’s sweat on the pads of his paws.

According to the marketing, the Komfort Climate Controlled Carrier keeps the temperature in the crate steady, never allowing it to get either too hot or too cold.

And you know what?  Benny is actually worth it!

But could we buy it at $399?

I think not!

So for now, when heading across town on a stinker, I take out one of those medical icepacks you can pick up from the chemist for around $10, wrap it up in a tea towel I bought for $2 and pop it under his tummy when we cruise through the sweaty, tarry streets of Melbourne.

It may not be perfect, but it sure helps.

Every couple of months, I’d get the blues. Not bad enough for me to slit my wrists, but enough so that I’d hole up in the house for a while and watch bad tv. 

But since Jacque, Louie, and Benny have arrived, life’s been looking brighter.

The cats came first and the blues became a lighter shade.  Sure, I might be feeling kinda sad and lonely but with Jacquey’s paws on my tummy and Louie purring near my face, I felt loved. And that was good.

And then we got Benny and things got even better.

Now, I’ll wake up to find Benny grinning up at me, shaking himself awake and scrubbing at the sleep in his fur.  Then he’s following hard at my heels  as I mooch about the kitchen, sucking down coffee and pulling on my converse sneakers.  Knowing that he won’t let up ’til I clip on his lead and stumble across to the off lead park down the road.

As if this wasn’t enough to shake away those windy blues, there are always people and dogs to meet.  It’s inevitable.  A  Schnoodle breaks bread with Benny and I feel like a wally if I don’t say something too.

Pretty soon, the conversation has veered into books, movies and relationships and we’re pointing out where our houses lie, smiling and saying that we’ll see each other around.

And we do.  Along with the other six people and seven dogs we met that morning.

And then it all happens again in the afternoon.

After five months of taking Benny out twice a day, we’ve met a pancake stack of people In parks, streets, beaches and pubs.  Benny’s a virtual social springboard and what with all his daily affection and enthusiasm, it’s getting harder and harder for the blues to raise their sore and sorry heads.

Thanks to Benny and the Boys, the blues have blown away and left a golden furry sky behind.