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She wandered among the brushes, shampoos and moisturizers at Armstrong & McCall Beauty Supplies and greeted the customers who entered.
The crazy part, though? She’s got four legs and a tail.
Oreo, an 8-year-old black Lab, has accompanied her owners Jodi and Joe Mitchell to their shop every day since she was 8 months old.
“She keeps herself occupied,” Jodi said. “She pretty much wants to be where someone is. She’ll come into my office or, if we’re all eating lunch in the back, that’s where she is.”
And while the pup’s visit might have been an everyday event for her, other dogs nationwide made special visits into owners’ offices.
Friday was the 10th annual Take Your Dog to Work Day, a special day created by Pet Sitters International to showcase dogs’ companionship and encourage pet adoption, according to the Take Your Dog to Work Day Web site.
Cathy Palacios has worked at Armstrong & McCall for 15 years and said Oreo’s visits have brought joy to the shop since they began.
“Her puppy years were cool,” Palacios said, glancing at the dog happily laying on the cool tile floor. “She’d walk around and her little tail would knock the cans off the shelves.”
As she grew, she developed her own personality. Tomatoes and apples are two of her favorite foods, for instance, and when Joe shows up at 5:30 p.m., she knows it’s time to go home.
“All the kids ask for her when they come in with their parents,” Palacios said. “Everybody loves her.”
She’d recommend other business owners to pack up their pooches for work, depending on the dog’s temperament, Jodi Mitchell said.
Oreo is everyone’s friend and only becomes nervous around people walking with canes or wearing funny hats, but not all dogs are that easy-going.
And if a customer seems frightened of the dog – something Jodi said is rare – the owners simply send her to the back.
“She’s a stress reliever,” she said, holding Oreo’s squeaky duck toy. “If you have a bad day, all you have to do is look at her and you feel better.”
Allison Miles is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6511 or amiles@vicad.com.