By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk, president

For many of you, this will not come as a surprise. You’ve been privy to the cacophonous sound of a barking dog while speaking to us on the phone. But for those few that haven’t had that privilege, we’d like to introduce you to Barney, the bbr marketing office dog.

I recently came across an article on the INC. website entitled Study: Office Dogs Reduce Work-Related Stress and I have to agree with the premise. While he creates stress by his rousing barking when a random squirrel or UPS delivery person shows up, most of the time, he’s a welcome and calming addition to the team. When one of us sneezes, he comes running to make sure we are both okay. When it’s been a while since we’ve moved about, he places his head in one of our laps to say hi and encourage a wee walkabout. His goofy face can make us laugh at just the right times. And his picture on the bbr marketing Facebook page has gotten more comments and “awws” than anything else we’ve posted. Apparently people find posts about animals much more interesting than posts about business strategies. Who knew?

Additionally, Barney has another job outside of entertaining us and keeping our stress level at bay. He’s a search and rescue cadaver dog. An odd hobby, I’ll grant you, but my husband and dog are on a volunteer search and rescue team called ATSAR that gets called to help law enforcement find lost and missing people. Whether it be an Alzheimer’s patient that has wandered off, a missing child or a crime victim, this team of dedicated people and canines donates their time and resources to finding them. In some cases, it is to reunite the person with loved ones and in others it’s to bring closure to a sad situation. But regardless of the particulars, it’s a wonderful thing and I’m proud of the work they do.

So, why all this talk about Barney? Well, we do get quite a few questions about his photo and barking in the background, so we thought we’d take a minute to clear up any confusion. Secondly, while it might not be for everyone, we encourage smaller, flexible offices to consider the addition of a four-legged staff member for the reduced stress, occasional distraction and increased happiness.

Plus, we are going to be giving away one or two stuffed “Barneys” at the Southeastern Accounting Show, so stay tuned for how you can win your very own!