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Connection Corner: Work from Home Pets

We asked Meredith Faculty/Staff to share their “work from home” pet companions, and the campus community responded! Here are some of the pets who belong to Meredith employees.

Tracy Knight, Assistant to the Associate Dean and School of Business Faculty:
“One of my kitties, Tony, parks himself beside me, purring, to watch as I type. Fascinated by words that pop up on my laptop  screen, he reaches for them with his paw.  Then he looks at me as if to say, ‘How did you DO that?’  We have a routine – he is there each morning, near the computer, waiting for me.  Tony is a very charming and devoted work partner.”

Tony the Cate

 

Professor of Sociology Lori Brown: “I  have three cats and this three-legged dog named Zelda. She lost her leg (hit by a car) before I added her to the family. She is well loved in our neighborhood and she and the cats do NOTHING to make work from home easier. Students in my classes last semester were often surprised by the appearance of a cat at my elbow looking to get in the Zoom meeting. My dog isn’t able to hop up to the camera or she would have done that too. However, there is nothing better than the company of pets when home alone and walking a dog each day keeps me moving.”

Lori Brown and Zelda

 

Catherine Rodgers, Professor of Theatre: “This is Vladimir, our 11 year old toy poodle.  He was a rescue doggie who was named after a vampire because he retained his puppy teeth and they hung down like fangs. Vlad is definitely part of our family and is 8 lbs. of love and snuggles!”

Vladimir the Dog

 

Instructor of Communication Angela Smedley: “We have two pups, Leo (12) and Stella (8). Stella sticks close to my husband and Leo is my little shadow.”

Angela Smedley Pet 1 Angela Smedley's Husband, child and dog

 

Anne York, Professor of Economics: “These are our dogs, Mollie and Baxter. We’ve had Mollie for 13 years but Baxter is a stray dog we took in a few months ago. They impact my work at home routine in that they both bark a lot and I have to be careful when I’m videoconferencing or recording an instructional video!”

Anne York - Dogs

 

Paige Ryan, Admissions Data Administrator: “This is Buster, my 8 year old pug. During quarantine, I started walking in the afternoons with Buster and my roommates. People might think all pugs are super lazy, but Buster loves going for walks and has no problem walking a couple miles.”

Paige Ryan - Pet

 

Savannah Smith, Poteat RD: “This is Pippa. She lives in Poteat Residence Hall apartment with me and is missing all the noise of the students. She also strongly believes that the laptop is the best spot to lay despite her three other beds.”

Pippa the Cat

 

Kaylin Tsukayama, Videographer/Photographer: “Rocket is my home office supervisor. He’s a bit of a micromanager and likes to peek over my shoulder to check on my work every once in a while. Fern is our newest hire, he just started last Friday. Honestly, I don’t know how he got this position as I’ve only ever seen him either running around the office with no direction or sleeping on the job. Rocket and Fern are three years and three months old respectively.”

Kaylin Pet 1 Kaylin Pet 2

 

Amanda Dean, Assistant Director, MBA Program:  “I have three kitties; Boomer, Buff, and Luna who have been excellent co-workers during my time at home. Boomer helps me with paperwork daily!”

Amanda Deans Cat

 

Stephanie Antonelli, Nutrition Program Site Preceptor: “This is Indi, a red fawn frenchie. He has been attached to my hip while working at home. At times I have to social distance my self when I am on Zoom with my interns because you can hear him snoring in the background!”

Stephanie Antonelli's pet

 

Patty Blackwell, Facilities Customer Service Clerk: “Trish is my very curious little black cat that “helps me” sometimes when I’m working at home. My other cat Tino generally snoozes through my Zooms.”

Trish and Tino Trish the Cat

 

Heather Zeigler, Payroll Administrator: “Cooper (15) is dapper and camera ready for any zoom meeting.”

Cooper the Cat

 

Amanda Sullivan, Research and Instruction Librarian: “We have 3 1/2 pound Maltese who is also 3 1/2 years old. Her name is Lady, but we also call her our majestic beast, and we simply adore her (and yes, she is spoiled rotten). She tends to rest while we work, but it’s nice to take snuggle breaks with her.”

Lady the dog

 

Director of Health Services Mary Johnson: “Lewis providing therapy to a friend finishing her 12th round of chemo via a drive by celebration this weekend.”

Therapy Dog

 

Vice President for College Programs Jean Jackson: “Harry and George Bailey are my constant work companions — except when they are distracted by anything that moves on my street (note all ears in high alert) and when they nap. I’ve grown quite used to Zooming with the accompanying soundtrack of little snores coming from these fellows. They are not particularly fans of meetings. They are fans of being able to got out and have treats a bit more frequently than when I am in the office. Our little pack is so far weathering the pandemic well.”

Jean Jackson 1 Jean Jackson 2

 

Assistant Professor of World Languages and Cultures Callie DeBellis: “This is my officemate, Tubbs. He’s great at reminding me when I need a break and to take him for a walk!”

Callie Debellis Dog

 

Assistant Director of Alumnae Relations Lily Rosene: “Like most people working from home, my dog Miller has been glued to my side every day since this started. We had been stationed in the dining room, but upgraded to a home office this morning now that I have a desk (finally!). Here is a photo from a month or so ago right after a virtual chapter event. Miller has made an appearance at multiple staff meetings and virtual chapter events. Thankfully, he’s pretty well mannered as long as I don’t say “walk” too loudly.”

Miller the Dog

 

Assistant Professor of History Angela Robbins: “Rooney is Work From Home all the time! The sweet boy can hardly stand to be separated from us, so he is often sitting close to or on top of one of the computers! We put one of his purr pads on the counter one day to keep him off the computer during a Zoom meeting, and he finally laid down for a nap, thank goodness! Dash often jumps up to sit on my lap when I’m working from the sofa, as you see in the close-up photo of him. But he also spends a lot of his time on the top level of his cat tower, where he gets VERY comfy!”

Angela Robbins cat Rooney the Cat

 

Victoria Munn, Enrollment Management, Student Services Administrator: “Harley is the greatest work companion!”

Harley the Dog

 

Assistant Director of Visual Communication-Multimedia Charlotte McKinney: “My 13-year-old dog, Sawyer, has loved having us working from home over the last few months. He loves his people and keeps us company through the workday. He even has a bed between my husband’s desk and my desk where he sits most of the day looking out the window. He also provides entertainment for our two-year-old daughter, Stella, even letting her play doctor with him.  Thank goodness for my patient old man!”

Sawyer and Stella

 

Maple Bean, relaxation coach for Dance Professor Sarah Bean.

Sarah Bean's dog Maple

 

Administrative Assistant for Human Resources Mariana Hoffman: “On the left, is Poppy Loo, who is 3 ½ years old and on the right is 10-week old Biscuit. They both bring so much joy to our family!”

Pups

 

Director of Alumnae Relations Hilary Allen: “This is what Teddy thinks about working from home. He doesn’t. His typical work day consists of eating, napping, begging for rubs and treats, popping up on Zoom calls, being cute, and pestering me. When he is not napping, he has actually been the best company and co-worker while I have been working from home.”

Hilary Allen - Dog

 

News Director Melyssa Allen: “My cats, Kate and Pippa, are great work from home supervisors. They enjoy popping into Zoom meetings, but they can’t seem to get through their To-Do lists, as they keep getting interrupted by the need to nap.”

Kate and Pippa

 

Technology Services shared this collection of all of their pets

Collage of Tech Services Employees Pets

Melyssa Allen

News Director
316 Johnson Hall
(919) 760-8087
Fax: (919) 760-8330

allenme@meredith.edu