Meet Sasha

Breed:  Samoyed

Barking from:  Hamilton

What's up dog?

Sasha is a 2-year-old Samoyed. She has been an office dog for over a year and comes to work three days a week. This application was constructed with comments from the team.

Sasha's duties as office dog include:
- Excitedly welcoming everyone as they arrive, with tail wags in full force. She is like our own personal cheerleader for arriving on time.
- Joining meetings to ensure they stay on track and the odd distraction with some goofy antics in front of the webcam to keep it interesting.
- Helping shred the paper in the paper recycling bin - she is very efficient at this.
- Proactively seeking out important memos in the CEO's satchel and uploading them into her cloud-like structure for safe storage. Document retrieval from the cloud is a work-in-progress.
- Ensuring the office stays tidy by picking up rubbish.
- Making sure the team gets their work done by napping for extended periods of time.

As an unofficial therapy dog and morale champion, Sasha brings a gentle, calming presence to the office. She will often be found sleeping under someone's desk. Sasha supports the team's mental health by making sure they take a moment out of their day for cuddles, pats, and sometimes a walk outside. She will even tell you when she thinks you need to give her more pats with a gentle paw at your hand. Unlike a conventional therapist, she will join you on the couch to destress. Sasha makes the workplace inviting; her workmates will often bring their family members in to meet her. She has also been helping a staff member in another office get over their fear of dogs, with controlled visits on lead, progressing to a few pats.

Sasha is a very funny, happy dog and knows how to make people smile. For example, when you turn around you might find her lying on her back looking up at you with a huge smile on her face (known as the sammy smile). She's always up for a chat and will reply in awoos.

Sasha loves showing off tricks she learns at obedience training which earns lots of praise from her workmates. Her most recent trick is sitting on top of a bucket, then moving to two subsequent buckets, then turning around on the third bucket and doing it again. Some other commands that are very useful in the office environment include:
- Stay - so she knows she's not coming to the next meeting.
- Down - useful for when visitors, including children, arrive who aren't too sure about dogs.
- Recall - in case she decides to follow someone out of the office.

2024 NZ Top Office Dog Award

Judging and criteria

This award will be judged on:

Purpose

Four-legged support can be shown in multiple ways and furry forms in the workplace, and this award celebrates a supreme dog that supports their people to do their best mahi. We are looking for a top office dog with tail wags, affectionate licks, playful walks and that special presence that boosts their owner and co-worker’s mental health while contributing to a positive work culture. They may be a work from home dog, an office dog – or a hybrid pooch! 

Reach

Is the dog dedicated to improving the life of one human, or an entire team?

Impact

How big an impact does this dog have in the workplace? Explain how much your canine friend has improved mental health at work or office culture, and give examples of how they have made an impact. 

Quirky

All dogs are special. Does your dog possess a superpower? Please note their special talent or a trick they perform on demand.