Pet dogs, therapy dogs, and service dogs can be seen in workplaces with increasing frequency. Although dogs may provide many benefits to employees and employers, their presence may introduce additional hazards and concerns to the work environment. Therefore, decisions to accept dogs in the workplace may include many considerations including the health, safety, and well-being of employees, legal and cultural sensitivities, and animal welfare. The present paper serves to introduce the issue of dogs in the workplace and outline the potential benefits and challenges to their presence. The legal accommodations afforded to certain types of dogs in workplace settings are discussed, and the research findings pertaining to the potential benefits of dogs on human health and well-being are summarized. The paper concludes with considerations for human resource management personnel in the areas of diversity, employee relations, ethics and corporate responsibility, organizational and employee development, safety and security, and legal considerations, as well as suggested topics for future research.

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The use of service or assistance dogs has increased over the past three decades but is still considered by many to be an emerging concept for assisting people with disabilities to navigate a number of environments. This is predominately due to the minimal research that has been done on the effect and promising practices. One area, employment, has been completely overlooked in research related to service dogs. This research project undertook an exploratory study to gather data on the elements of service dog partnerships that have been successful in the workplace. A structured methodology using mixed methods was used to gather ideas from a diverse group of stakeholders, people with service dogs, trainers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and other healthcare professionals, to form a common framework for addressing the issue in future research and development of interventions. The results identified 68 elements that respondents perceived and rated to be important or highly important to the phenomenon. They were categorized into six clusters: (1) dog preparation, (2) monitoring, (3) employee competence, (4) legal knowledge, (5) information and education, and (6) coworker preparation. The discussion identified key points that might support the development of successful employment outcomes for people working with service dogs.

State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies demonstrate wide reporting variability regarding the prevalence of substance use disorders among consumers of their services. The differences do not appear to correspond with state-level data derived from the general population in national substance use/abuse studies. This study reports findings from national surveys of VR program directors and counselors in regard to policy, practice, and professional perceptions. Results indicate that there are differences in the perceptions of profossionals regarding order of selection, sobriety waiting policies, and estimates of substance abuse but no relationship between state VR policies and the variability found in SUD rates.

The objective of this article is to determine if there are perceptual differences regarding the importance of elements deemed imperative for successful service dog partnerships in the workplace (Glenn, 2013) between those who have experience with dogs for mobility/stability and those for medical alert/response. Thirty individuals completed this online survey (mobility/stability: n = 18; medical alert/response: n = 12). Participants rated the importance of elements in response to the question, “How important to do you think this item is in the OVERALL process?” The mobility/stability group rated the Co-Worker Preparation and Legal Knowledge clusters as significantly more important than the medical alert/response group. This opens up a need for research on the unique needs of subgroups of the population of people using service dogs. Differences may exist because of the size of dogs and the issues around privacy for the person with the disability seeking accommodations on the job.