As more Dartmouth residents try to reduce the spread of coronavirus by working from home, many have found this new way to work has also brought them new coworkers — their pets. 

While they might not understand what is going on in the world around them, these pets are certainly trying their best to help out their humans in their new office spaces.

Britany Iacaponi’s one-year-old golden retriever Willow is always by her side and ready to receive any cuddles. The only thing Willow is not a fan of is having to social distance while on walks.

“[She] doesn’t understand why we can’t say hi to other friendly dogs or why people aren’t petting her when they call her pretty,” Iacaponi said.

Sarah Huff’s puppy, Dusty, isn’t much of a social distance fan either. But Huff enjoys how working from home gives her more time to train her greyhound. Dusty does still get smiles from those who see him on walks.

Of course, canines aren’t the only office colleagues in Dartmouth. Many cats have also lent their talents to the workplace, as they walk across keyboards or make appearances in video calls. 

But for librarian Sharani Robins, her cat Misty prefers to be more of a distraction than a helper, as she frequently tries to get Robins to go on a break just to get some attention.

“Let’s get real, doesn’t the world revolve around the cat and not the human?” she joked.