Co-authored by Justine Dhollande and Skylar the Border Collie
Disclaimer: The images in this post are ridiculously adorable. Prepare for Cute Overload.
It’s Monday morning, 7:00 a.m. hits and a loud noise starts sounding from a device next to the bed. Whenever I hear this sound, I know my human is going to ‘work.’ Some dogs may be sad about this because they get left behind all day. I used to be that dog. I would watch my human run around the house in a frenzy, feed me quickly, let me out to potty for a brief moment, then watch her bolt out the door. No cuddles, no play time, just food, potty and goodbye. I hated those days.
But then, something amazing happened. One day, she came home extremely happy, and when my human is happy, so am I. She said she got a new job. Of course, this meant nothing to me at the time, except that we got to jump around and wiggle with joy. I didn’t realize my life would change forever.
Another Monday comes around, and something changed in her morning routine. There was no running around in a hurry. She suddenly had time for cuddles, kisses and fetch. She mentioned that with this new job, she has ‘flexibility.’ I’m not sure what this is, but if any humans out there haven’t tried this concept yet, I highly recommend it.
She proceeded to gather my toys, blanket, treats and leash, along with her work bag. “Come on Skylar, we are going to work!” she says. I don’t really understand yet, but I don’t care. All I know is that I get to go in the car! And then we were off, and quickly arrived at the coworking place that I’ve been hearing so much about: Cowork Tahoe.
We walked inside, and I finally understood why my human was so happy. She worked in a human/dog heaven! I’m talking free treats, toys, and friends for both of us. We go to the kitchen, and she grabs something to eat, and then hands me a doggie treat from a jar on the counter. We go to her desk and she works enthusiastically while I work ruthlessly on getting the squeaker out of a new toy I found. We go to the couches for a break, and she meets a human friend who has a doggie friend for me to play tug of war with. It was the best day ever!
Fast forward a few weeks, and life at work just keeps getting better. I now know all the dogs that come to work regularly (shout out to my paw pals Cassie, Noka and Cherokee), as well as my friends in the kitchen, who can’t resist giving me treats.
But even better than friends and treats is that my human has never been happier! Sometimes she takes me out to run before going to work. Other times, we go to the park in the middle of the day for some sunshine and frisbee. Most days she even has extra energy after work for hikes, bike rides and evening yoga to unwind.
We have been working at this coworking space for over two years now, and there still is never a dull moment. It’s been really fun socializing and meeting all these new humans and dogs from different backgrounds. My human seems to be learning a lot, outside of her desk bubble. She really enjoys talking to all the other humans that work in the same building, who have all sorts of different jobs, while I enjoy wagging my tail with dogs who come from all over. Our work-play balance couldn’t be better, and I have our coworking sanctuary to thank.
Unfortunately, since this terrible thing called COVID-19 hit, we have not been back to our work sanctuary in forever it seems. I hear that most dogs are happiest when their owners are home all the time. Well, perhaps I would feel the same way if this virus came before my owner started taking me to work. But since I was welcome at the office anyways, I miss all my friends now! I get it, I get it…it is safer to be home, so I will obey because I am a good girl. I even make sure to wear my mask when I’m out to protect others. So while I practice “physical distancing” with my humans, I will patiently sit and wait until I get to cowork again.
Check out www.CloudVO.com to book a day pass at a dog-friendly flexible office space today.
