Some in Corridor bring dogs to the office

Many professionals in the Corridor are lucky to work with their best friends - some of whom just happen to have tails.

Pediatric Dentist Kaaren Vargas, owner of Corridor Kids Pediatric Dentistry in North Liberty, says she could not imagine working without her dogs nearby.

Maggie, a 5-year-old lemon Beagle, and Nix, a two-year-old Bichon, come to work with Vargas every day and often follow her around the office.

'It just doesn't feel right when I'm working and the dogs aren't here,” she said, noting that her dogs have become a hit with families and employees.

Some area business owners have made a habit of bringing their pets to work, finding dogs often reduce stress and add to a better workplace environment.

For some businesses owners, what started out as a way to keep the dog out of the house has turned into a positive contribution to the workplace.

'When somebody is having a stressful day, they will pick one of the dogs up, and immediately there's a lot of release of tension,” Vargas said.

Vargas said she has had only a few instances over the past seven years where a patient was either allergic or afraid of dogs, and even then she said reactions to the dogs were still positive.

Maureen Kler Osako, partner at Informatics Inc., a digital marketing company in Cedar Rapids, also brings her dog to work.

She said dogs with relaxed personalities that socialize well seem to work best in an office environment.

Vargas originally started bringing dogs to work when she opened the practice seven years ago - starting with her lemon beagle, Daisy.

Vargas said Daisy would get nervous staying at home all day, and would chew on the wood windowsill and bend the metal bars on her kennel. It wasn't until Vargas brought Daisy to work that the dog began to calm down and exhibit her mellow personality, Vargas said.

'It was a win-win,” Vargas said, explaining that the dog was a lot calmer around the office. 'She adapted to the office and the staff, and everyone really loved her and enjoyed having a dog around.”

Karl Moscrip, owner of Hall Bicycle Company in Cedar Rapids, started bringing his golden retriever Maggie to the store more than a decade ago to increase her activity level.

'It was tough leaving (her) home all day by herself, cooped up,” Moscrip said.

Although Maggie stays home these days, Moscrip has continued to bring his two other golden retrievers, Sadie and Scout, to the store. Moscrip said he brings the dogs to work during the fall and winter, but not in the summer when business picks up and more people are in the store. He said when business picks up, he worries the dogs will wander off with somebody because of their friendly personalities.

Moscrip said customers who work downtown will stop in every so often to pet the dogs and de-stress for a little while.

'It's pretty amazing how many people will come just to see the dogs,” Moscrip said, adding that the workplace dogs offer a sort of therapy to people during the day.