My Fire Hydrant

Jason and Woody strut their stuff!

Jason leads our North American External Relations team. He’s been with Pet Care for 11 years.

1. What pets share your life?
Wow – there are several.  Since my wife and I raise and show Afghan Hounds, we share our lives with many of them!  Some of the notables are Woody, a 4 year old blue brindle male (and the man of the house), Bella, a 3 year old black-masked red female who’s as sweet as sugar pie, and Rush, our Italian import.  Black, lots of hair, handsome!

2. What is the funniest thing your pets have ever done?
These are too numerous to mention.  They make me laugh every day, and I love them for it.

3. What’s your favorite story about pets in the office?
My favorite story is about Vicki’s dog Rocky (Vicki is a coworker in External Relations).  Now mind you Rocky is the number 1 Boston Terrier in the country – but don’t be fooled.  We came back from a meeting, and Rocky had DESTROYED Vicki’s cube!!!  Her phone was in the floor, receiver over here and base over there.  The contents of her purse were EVERYWHERE.  The lipstick was open.  The pens had chewed caps.  Papers littered her desk, her chair, and all over the floor.  It was hilarious!  And who could get mad at a face like Rocky’s?

4. What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
I love being around people with a passion for cats and dogs.  For so many of us, what we do at work and how we live at home are pretty inseparable – pets are what we love.  So to do work where pets not only can have a place, but are featured and our sole reason for being is wonderful!

Janet and Elmo (Elmo is the one in the patriotic bandana)

Janet is an old friend of mine. She helps consumers, retail customers, breeders, and Veterinarians on our toll-free phone lines. She’s been with Pet Care for over 9 years.

1. What pets share your life?
My husband and I have one child, a furry one named Elmo. We sometimes refer to him as Elmo The Wonder Dog. He is a 7-year old, 65-pound, English Springer Spaniel. My husband has taught him many tricks and he is always willing to do them at our request, as long as he sees a treat in my husband’s hand.

2. What is your pet’s funniest habit?
Elmo doesn’t care to get baths. (Yes, I know, he is a water spaniel). When he hears us say the word stinky or bath in conversation, he knows bath time is going to happen again in the near future. He then wants us to forget about him so he moves himself into the dining room or tries to hide his 65-pound body behind one of our living room chairs. He manages to hide the front half of his body pretty good, but the back half is pretty easy to spot!

3. What’s your favorite story about pets in the office?
One of my teammates in Consumer Relations had a very large Great Dane and because of his size, he had an imposing presence. She was very proud of the dog’s stature and the comments she would receive when she brought him in the office. One day, another coworker happened to have his small Jack Russel Terrier in the office, too. As the Great Dane walked through the department, the Jack Russell barked at him and startled him and the Great Dane turned around and ran and hid under the owner’s desk, which flabergasted the proud owner, but the rest of us thought was pretty funny.

4. What is your favorite part of working at Pet Care?
There are several things I especially like about my job which I get to experience on a regular basis. I enjoy educating people on pet nutrition and helping them to pick the best food we offer to meet their dog’s or cat’s needs. Another rewarding conversation is the one I get to have with new puppy owners, or owners who are in the midst of of the first year with their puppy and finding themselves very frustrated. When I can help make the adjustment for both the owner and the puppy a smoother one by giving them tips, I feel that I have helped them to have a smoother adjustment and therefore a closer bond. And finally, I get to hear some of the most heart warming stories about animals being rescued/adopted, and about how much love and care so many animals receive. It is truly heartwarming.

My friend Emily over on Eukanuba Unleashed posted today about how to throw a “pawty” on February 6 when Animal Planet broadcasts the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. Em has got all the bases covered–from invitations to decor to drinks. She even includes a scorecard–the Bone Collector Grid–that you can use in a game to keep track of which dog is moving forward for the win. Actually, I think the Bone Collector Grid might be a fun game to play at any dog show–especially for kids who might become a little antsy during the judging.

This past Saturday and Sunday (12/12-13), Long Beach California hosted the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. My buddy Emily was there and she tweeted (@askEukanuba and @EukanubaEmily) some great photos! Since not everybody is on Twitter, I thought I’d share them here (Em’s tweet is the photo caption).

Check out this pretty banner at the entrance to the big show ^Em #eukdogshow Can't wait for all the fun events tomorrow.

Check out the trophy!! Very cool!#eukdogshow

This is what they’re all after!

OMD!!!! just met Shawn Johnson w/my coworker Jason..Great start to show #eukdogshow

Another great photo of Shawn Johnson w/my fave breed!!! #Eukdogshow

Another great photo of Shawn #eukdogshow

Emily had a great time with Shawn Johnson–maybe you don’t remember her? Shawn won gymnastic gold in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics, and she has a dog named Tucker.

Shawn autographed some really beautiful dog collars that were given away as prizes:

Are you at #eukdogshow? Go to stage in main entrance at 2:30 for a chance to win a collar autographed by @ShawneyJ

@ShawneyJ was giving out collars on the stage earlier this afternoon!! The collars were pink & sparkly We had 5 lucky winners.

Just finished watching Justin Tackett w/Yella!!!What a dynamic duo #eukdogshow

Emily also got to meet Justin Tackett and his beautiful dog, Yella.

There were some pawsome dogs in the Meet the Breed area:

Here is a pic of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy. Enjoy! #eukdogshow

This is Ditto-the brother to Knotty, previous AKC/Euk Nation'l Champ. He is a sweethart!! Look at those sweet wrinkles!!!

Look at these giant beauties!! #eukdogshow ^Em

Check out this cute Beagle!! What a face ^Em

Look at this face!!!! This is my new fave breed (of course Goldens still rule my heart) #eukdogshow ^Em

Em also got to meet Officer John Azevedo and Blitz:

What a day so far!!! I was able to meet Officer John Azevedo & Blitz. What a great team! Blitz is beautiful #eukdogshow

Another new friend!

Just met @LauraNativo & @PrestonCasanova by the dock jumping area. Preston had the cutest bag and necktie!! What a cutie

Eukanuba and Orvis presented a check for $150,000 to the Morris Animal Foundation to help their Canine Cancer Campaign. Is that Betty White up there on the stage?

This afternoon Eukanuba & Orvis presented check for 150,000 to Morris Animal Foundation to help K9 Cancer Campaign ^Em

Just sat down for evening show!!..how exciting #eukdogshow

And then it was time for the show! The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship will be broadcast on Animal Planet on February 6. If you want to know who won, visit this spoiler link. You’ll also find more show results on Dog Show Poop.

What a fabulous weekend. Maybe I’ll get to go next year!

I just checked this video into YouTube. It’s a dog’s eye view of running an agility course. This is Jace the Border Collie, and you’d be panting too if you were going as fast as she is!!! (BTW, the first 20 seconds of this video are silent.)

The Mason Business Center.

Pulling into the parking lot, I got a good view of our new dog park!

Our new dog park.

On our first day in the new office, the dog park is not quite done yet. But very soon it will be!

I knew I was in the right place when I saw this sign at the door!

The dog elevator.

Because there are so many people working at the MBC (the Mason Business Center), we wanted to be considerate of people with allergies and people who would (I know you’ll find this hard to believe!) rather not be around dogs. So there is a specially designated elevator specifically for people bringing their dogs to work. You can see by how it’s decorated that it’s very dog-friendly! Our dogs also have their own stairwell—for pooches who’d rather have the exercise of walking up stairs instead of the ease and comfort of an elevator ride.

The walls inside of the elevator are also decorated.

This is a huge facility, so it’s helpful to have directions to Pet Care.

This is the entry into the Pet Care section of the facility.

A touch of our old home!

This dog statue used to sit outside of one of our larger meeting rooms in our old home. It’s one of the first things you see when you come into our new office area!

Kersee, our first VP for Canine Communications

Kersee was our official door greeter up until 2002. I had not ever seen this portrait of her, but I recognized her instantly! She was a great dog, and it’s fitting that her portrait be at the gateway to our office.

The plaque beneath Kersee’s portrait.

Claudia, our first VP for Feline Communications is also remembered.

Clawdia's Plaque

When I walked into the Pet Care office area, I was amazed at the order! Boxes were where they were supposed to be, everybody was unpacking (and having a great time), and by 10 AM we were all back to work as if we had lived in this new office for years!

The clutter of unpacking in Consumer Relations.

Getting everything put away

Almost done!

A few boxes left to unpack.

What a beautiful facility, and a great place to work! I am amazed at the attention and care given to make our area look so pet-oriented! There are dog and cat murals painted on all the walls!

All the walls have dogs and cats on them!

The style of this mural is very retro for us

The style of portrait of the dogs and cats which make up our wall murals has a lot of sentimental value for me. When I first joined Iams in the ‘90s this was the style that had been used on many of our marketing materials.

A Terrier tilts her head with interest.

Another touch from our old home—the little statue of the puppies in their bed that sits between these two desks.

A version of our Mission Statement runs through each mural: “P&G Pet Care exists to enhance the health and well being of more dogs and cats.”

Back at our old home, we named our conference rooms after breeds of dog and cat. The Mason Business Center is big enough that room numbers matter. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from giving each of our new meeting rooms over to a specific breed of dog or cat and putting up the art work that “flavored” our meeting spaces in our old home!

The plaque that named the Siberian Husky room came south with us and now marks a new meeting space.

Our new version of the Retriever room.

The ceiling of the meeting room directly outside of Consumer Relations has paw prints on it!

Here’s a quirky whimsical welcome at the entry to a Pet Care area.

One of our new break rooms.

Within a couple of hours, Jen is moved in and focused on work!

At the start of this post I posed a question: Could we really pack up our 2,000 boxes, our artwork, and all the bits and pieces that make an office a home and resume working at a brand new location on the next business day?

Oh yeah! No problem!

Next: An Iams & Eukanuba Celebration!

Party-animal Murphy loves playing in the leaves.

My friend Emily just posted a great article about the 5 Best Toys for Outdoor Fun. She should know–her Murphy is a party-animal and LOVES his toys!

The “For Sale” sign went up in early September.

So we spent September and part of October going through all the stuff we had accumulated during the time we live in our buildings on Poe Avenue.

And then, suddenly, it was our last week in the building. The week started with a “garage sale” and silent auction. A lot of that stuff that we had collected–stacks of branded tee shirts, pens, notebooks, clocks, watches, along with used office supplies—were all put in one room and we each purchased some memories to take home. And much of the dog and cat oriented art work that we had collected over the years was put up for silent auction. Our garage sale and silent auction raised over $7,000 for the United Way of Greater Dayton.

Shelley finishes packing in between phone calls.

Marti is nearly finished packing.

Boxes waiting to be loaded.

Sue, Consumer Relation’s move captain, has got it all under control.

Even with our downsizing, there seems to be no end to the boxes!

By Friday morning every cubical and office had a sign that said, “Checked and Ready to Move!”

 Friday October 23 was moving day, and we were required to be out the door by noon. Of course, it rained. If I was of a maudlin frame of mind, I might say that the sky cried to see us leaving. But I’m far more cynical—it rained because it made things more inconvenient and wet.

Marti got saturated loading last minute things into her car.

The ramp is down, the boxes are getting loaded.

One last look at our sign.

Over the weekend, the moving company would deliver our boxes to our new home.

Next: Iams & Eukanuba Find a New Home!

You’ve probably heard of the AKC (American Kennel Club) and the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association). Have you heard of Meet the Breeds?

 A few weeks ago (October 17 & 18), some of my co-workers were at the Javits Center in New York City (wish I had been able to go!) where they attended the AKC-CFA Meet The Breeds sponsored by Pet Partners, Inc. This really cool weekend event allowed people to “meet” 160 dog breeds and 41 cat breeds. Each breed had its own designated space that was designed and decorated to reflect the breed’s attributes, characteristics, history, and heritage. People attending the event were able to pet the dogs/cats/puppies/kittens and to question and talk to breed experts. What a great way to learn about different breeds of dogs and cats!

My buddy, Jason Taylor (from our External Relations team), was there to present a contribution to two outstanding organizations, the Bulldog Club of America and the Winn Feline Foundation. 

Munch looks on approvingly as Jason presents a check for $10,000 to Evelyn Heath of the Bulldog Club of America's Charitable Fund. To Munch's left are Adam and Deirdre Nardelli, Munch's owners.

Have you seen the Iams dog and cat ads we’ve been doing lately that call attention to the fact we’ve added prebiotics to our pet foods? The two breeds starring in these ads are the Bulldog and Cornish Rex. In fact,  the canine star of the ads — Munch the Bulldog – was at Meet the Breeds!

Everybody at Iams fell in love with Munch when we first started looking at his photos and video. He has such personality! That Saturday at Meet the Breeds, Jason and Munch presented a donation to the Bulldog Club of America. We know that they will put our contribution to good use to support the breed.

Janet Wolf, the executive director of the Winn Feline Foundation receives a check for $10,000 from Jason. On the left is David White of the CFA holding Artie the Cornish Rex.

The next day, it was Artie’s turn to shine. Artie is a Cornish Rex, and he is a magnificent example of his breed—sleek, healthy, and beautiful. The Cornish Rex is the breed of cat featured in our new marketing campaign for Iams Cat food. That Sunday, Jason and Artie presented a donation to the Winn Feline Foundation, to help honor and celebrate the unique Cornish Rex breed.

What an incredible event!