For anyone who knows me, follows me on Twitter (@BenjaminLamb), or is friends with me on Facebook, you would have to be purposely ignoring me to not know that I am recently the new “Puppa” to a 7 month old Golden Retriever named Penelope “Penny” Potts Lamb. Needless to say, I am a doting and semi-obsessed parent (here is her Facebook page… https://www.facebook.com/PennyPottsLamb).

For years now, my partner and I have been antsy to get ourselves a pet (1. because we love dogs, and 2. it seems like good practice…if we can keep a dog alive, maybe children are in the cards down the road), but weren’t able to. You see, we lived in on the campus where my partner worked in Residence Life, and the “No Pet” policy wasn’t something you could override as a professional. The tormenting part was, I can absolutely bring a pet with me to campus everyday, so alas, we were trapped in limbo. Then the biggest purchase of our lives occurred, we bought a home. This was OURS, and now we could do whatever we wanted. Besides tearing down walls, hanging things up with NAILS and doing dishes in a sink at a convenient height, we could now get a dog.

By the powers of Grayskull the little miracle named Penny was discovered on Ebay classifieds, of all places, during our Thanksgiving food coma sessions. The location was near-ish, the price was oddly low, and the dog was adorable. Although we went thinking that if she wasn’t perfect we wouldn’t buy her…within 10 minutes of arriving at the dairy farm she called home…she was in our back seat and en route to our house. But I could go on and on about the Illiad of Penny, this is not the point of this piece.

Pets do amazing things for their owners. They relieve stress, provide a new source of limitless and unadulterated love and affection, and for me, has not only added a new sense of balance to my days, but has in many ways transformed my day to day interactions with students, faculty and staff. Colleges perceive animals on campus as a liability in many cases; something to prevent; something too unpredictable. In particular cases, they’re right, but I challenge those using this “No Pets Allowed” as a universally accepted policy.

Sure, your pet might make a mess, eat anything within their reach and whine and bark a bit, but what are the possibilities for a responsible pet owner working in higher ed? Here’s a short list of just a few I’ve discovered in the past 2 months with PPL.

1. Office De-Stressor: While she can’t just roam openly around our central office, Penny is constantly visited by my colleagues looking for Puppy time. Rough meeting? Puppy time. Looking at your computer too much? Puppy time. Need to take a stroll outside? Puppy time. Need puppy time? Puppy time. The list goes on, and the results are almost tangible in the environment of our work space. Student workers are more engaged and happy, smiles pop up out of times of woe, and the dog can’t get enough loves. It’s similar to what one might expect if you had a massage therapist on retainer in your central office space.

2. Life Balancer: I’m a chronic over-committer. I do lots of stuff…I like doing lots of stuff. However, for the majority of my time in the field I have left work, on average, 1-4 hours after when I should have. There is always something to get done (even though in reality I know it will still be there tomorrow) and I could probably work 24/7/365 and still find new things to complete, try, create. Penny changed this almost like a light switch was flipped. She can’t stay in my office more than 8 hours a day without going nuts. She nudges me or stares at me with her big brown eyes without blinking at 5pm on the dot on a daily basis. The “I’ve had a long day of napping and I’m exhausted, lets go home” look, as I’ve come to call it, is almost like an alarm clock to call it quits. For the first time, I am keeping more consistent hours, structuring my days more efficiently, and taking some me time (which is really Me + Penny time).

3. “Therapy” Animal: right now she’s too young to get certified, but Penny has not only become a communal pet (Regularly I’ll return to my office and she’s gone, off on a walk with some student around campus), but she’s become a “safe space”, a “comfort zone” and a “cuddle machine” for a large number of students. Some students are those that have been frequent fliers of “Student Life Airlines” for years, but most are students I’ve only met SINCE getting her. You can visibly see the impact of 10 minutes with a pet on a student’s body language, demeanor, and energy. In addition, it’s been inspiring, and my partner and I are thinking of getting her officially certified, so not only could she ad hoc provide therapy in my office, but we could actually have her carry her own weight and do some good work in our Health Services office 🙂 For now though, I’ve actually created a Google calendar for students to sign up for slots. They can sign up to take her on walks, just play in the office, or go to the tennis courts and toss her ball around for a bit.

4. Healthier Habits: While it’s easy to get hunkered down inside, especially in the winter, that’s not an option with a pet that needs to go outside to do their business. Especially at a younger age, every hour or two taking a nice stroll outside not only helps her not to have accidents inside, but gets me away from my desk, stretches my legs, and gets some fresh air in my lungs. Since getting the dog, I’ve actually lost some weight (not very noticeable…but it’s true!), which I would attribute to taking her for walks, and just getting myself up and about.

5. Productivity: From your bosses perspective…this is probably the most important piece (you’re welcome) While I do have to get up and take her out, I’ve actually become more productive not only in my office, but in my collaborative relationships. You’d be surprised, once a school allows animals, there’s LOTS of animals! Many of the folks I currently collaborate with, or wish to collaborate with, actually have dogs themselves. This has made for some great conversations and program building opportunities during Puppy Play Dates. It’s a unique interaction you can’t really create artificially. In a similar respect, in my office space, I’m more in the moment, in-tune and able to focus on projects. My stress levels are much lower (unless Penny is being naughty) and I am able to think through challenging aspects more.

So what’s the bottom line here? Well, firstly, we should look at the policies around pets and really weight out the pros and cons for a particular campus/office/building. Perhaps blanket policies aren’t necessarily the best? Maybe the liability isn’t so intensive that it needs to halt campus animals? It might be a good time to have discussions with senior staff during the lull times of the year, and see what the research really shows. Secondly, pets are great. Both for our social lives and our work lives. In essence, from this human’s perspective, pets are one thing that SHOULD cross the boundaries of work/life.

SO, challenge the norms, grab a fuzzy buddy, and watch the magic that surrounds your own office animals!