Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2019

www.MtPleasant.Pet | www.MPVets.Pet | www.facebook.com/MPpets G U I D E PETS 19 process, Findlay makes sure applicants are okay with dogs, country music and flip flops. “Everyone who works here loves Caymus,” Findlay said. “He provides a better, calmer environment.” Findlay said it’s a big advantage to him personally to have Caymus at the office. “He keeps a smile on my face and reminds me that stress is only temporary.” Courtney Carruth, who brings her 6-year-old Labrador, Duke, to her office at Lodging Source, agrees that taking a dog to work lowers stress. Duke and several other dogs join their owners at the hotel-booking company in Mount Pleas- ant. “You can’t really have a bad day with a dog,” Carruth said. “Businesses are realizing that employee morale is higher. The world is becoming more dog friendly. Dogs make people happier.” Duke, who weighs 100 pounds, can “befriend a fly,” said Carruth. He sometimes sleeps on his bed next to her desk, but he often roams the halls. “He wants to be everyone’s friend. He makes the rounds, opens doors to other offices, pokes his head in, says ‘hi’ and steals another dog’s treat or toy. He comes back to the office with all sorts of things. He has no boundaries. He thinks the world is his.” In the small office of Cloud Harvest overlooking Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, there are five men and two male dogs. The men work in the offices, and the dogs rule the reception room. The two 1-year-old pups — white Labrador Larry and mixed-breed Billy — shred anything that goes on the floor, bark at paddleboarders out the window, steal toys back and forth, sprint in circles and move furniture around. “They are like bulls in a china shop,” joked Larry’s owner, Paul Grassie. He says the dogs have a routine. They play, chew, nap, pee and then repeat those four things several times a day. Grassie said he takes Larry to work to keep the 75-pound goofy furry family member out of his wife’s hair because she is already dealing with three active children at home. “He’s also happiest with me,” Grassie said. “He likes being around the guys.” The guys also like having the dogs at work. “Hav- ing Larry and Billy in the office is a stress reliever. They also give us a bit of a break when we take them outside.” Even the team at Mount Pleasant Magazine has a dog mas- cot at work every day. Piper is an 8-pound, 7-year-old Yorkie known as “the babe magnet” around the office. Like Pearl at Tresses, Piper wears many different outfits. “He has more clothes than me,” laughed Piper’s owner, Dana Coleman. Coleman said Piper’s favorite things to do at work are giving high fives and designing ads, as Piper will ambitiously hop into Ad Designer Bethany Thurm’s swivel chair and stare at her computer. He also likes to sneak into Sales Director Cullen Kemp’s cool car to snap a selfie and share with the office. And, in between all this work and mischief, Piper sleeps in his crate or on the floor under Cole- man’s desk. When it’s deadline time at Mount Pleasant Magazine , everyone will pay a visit to Piper. …The stress rolls off, the “reset” button is hit and all the world is relaxed and calm. U Duke rests in his office in between visiting his co-workers. Left to right, Billy and Larry are “just two of the guys” in the all-male office at Cloud Harvest. Piper is ready for work, perched in his office chair. Photo by Tonya McGue. Photo by Tonya McGue. Photo by Dana Coleman.