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SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Research continues to show that having a pet – or even just interacting with one – has positive effects on both animals and people. Petco believes that carrying those effects into the workplace, where most of us spend the majority of our time, is a no-brainer. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, only seven percent of employers allow pets to come to work with their pet parents, up from five percent in recent years. Petco's "National Pets @ Work Day" celebration is designed to encourage more businesses to embrace a pet-friendly environment and raise awareness of the mutual benefits of a pets at work culture.

"On National Pets @ Work Day, we celebrate the benefits of having pets in the workplace as well as the growing number of employers that recognize these benefits, in terms of boosting team morale, reducing stress, increasing productivity and creativity, and improving employee health," said Petco CEO Brad Weston. "With this day, our goal is to encourage more employers to make their workplaces pet friendly."

Numerous studies show that bringing pets to the office can help:

• Improve employee health: With the stress and pressure that work can sometimes bring, the presence of animals – including even fish in tanks – can help reduce heart rate and blood pressure. Studies have also shown that dog and cat parents made fewer animal doctor visits than non-pet parents.
• Reduce stress: A recent study of pet-friendly retail business found that employees' self-reported stress levels declined when their dogs were present, while stress increased for non-pet parents and for pet parents who did not bring their dogs to work.
• Increase productivity and promote creativity: Dogs remind us to get up and take breaks, and most of the time that means taking Fido for a walk outside. Research shows that walking, especially outdoors, can increase creative ideation in real time and shortly after, which have been shown to improve employee morale, productivity and focus.
• Enhance socialization among co-workers: Pets can act as catalysts for human social interactions. In fact, just being in the presence of pets can increase the frequency of social interactions, especially with strangers, because they can be a conversation starter.
• Improve productivity: When pet parents don't have to worry about rushing home to their pets for bathroom or exercise breaks, they may be more likely to stay and enjoy office happy hours or other activities.

Over the years, Petco has developed simple guidelines for pet-friendly workplaces. For employers, it's important to create a thorough policy for bringing pets to work. Employers should first consider their requirements of pets and pet parents such as vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and licensing and leashing, as well as setting clear guidelines and expectations for pet housing, such as pet gates, small habitats and aquariums.

Other factors employers should address when rolling out pet-friendly policies include the following:

• Make sure there are readily accessible outdoor areas for pet breaks.
• Consider pet-free zones for employees with allergies.
• Consider investing in built-in or removable pet gates at employee workspaces to make containment safe and easy.
• Clear pet-accessible areas of any potentially dangerous items such as cables, human food, electronics and furniture that could easily be knocked down.
• Keep toys, treats and anything else pets may not want to share with other animals out of common areas.
• Consider providing pet clean-up stations for inevitable "accidents" around the office.

For more tips on pet policies and the benefits of Pets @ Work, visit about.petco.com/pets-at-work or community.petco.com.  

About Petco and the Petco Foundation
With more than 50 years of service to pet parents, Petco is a leading pet specialty retailer that focuses on nurturing powerful relationships between people and pets. We do this by providing the products, services, advice and experiences that keep pets physically fit, mentally alert, socially engaged and emotionally happy. Everything we do is guided by our vision for Healthier Pets. Happier People. Better World. We operate more than 1,500 Petco and Unleashed by Petco locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico; prescription services and pet supplies from the leading veterinary-operated pet product supplier, Drs. Foster & Smith; digitally-delivered pet health advice through PetCoach; and petco.com. The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has invested more than $185 million since it was created in 1999 to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. In conjunction with the Foundation, we work with and support thousands of local animal welfare groups across the country and, through in-store adoption events, help find homes for more than 400,000 animals every year.

SOURCE Petco