Welcome to the Office
A lovely open office with a great view in the hills above Santa Fe — not a bad place to bring your three dogs to work. Especially when your commute is a walk across the yard from your house, as is the case with Clare Hertel, principal at public relations firm Clare Hertel Communications.
When I show up, Clare’s black lab Hatch is so excited to see me he jumps in the back of my car, and even when we walk up the stairs to the office he’s very interested in me and all my gear.
Eventually though, he resumes his normal position in the office — sprawled on the floor with old golden Huck. Young buck Mellie takes the first watch sitting outside the door.
Complete with bright works of folk art from one of Clare’s clients, the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the office has a great feel. Clare is at one end, Clare’s assistant Joy at the other, and the dogs in the between. Old mellow cat Daisy tucks herself into the back of Clare’s chair and successfully ignores all the dog shenanigans.
I’m beginning to notice the different types of interactions between the dogs in the different offices I’ve been in. In Trey’s office, the dogs got each other excited and all chased around like crazy. In Kimberly’s, Archie was the main dog who moved around from chosen spot to chosen spot while his friend cowered under the desk the whole time I was there.
Clare’s dogs — who have the option of staying in the main house with Clare’s husband, but prefer to come work — were pretty mellow but communal. They lay down beside each other, or looked up when one of them moved around, but they didn’t scamper and bark too much once they got over their initial excitement.
Thanks to Clare and Joy for letting me crash their working morning.
Do you know a dog-friendly workplace in the Santa Fe area that would like a visit from a photographer? Let me know in the comments or via email — david@moore-consulting.net
I’ll take the first watch
Did I miss anything?
Yin and Yang
Hard at work
Old dog smile