For the last 10 years, Paige (our head designer) has come to work every day with Norman, a scruffy salt and pepper pup, no bigger than a gallon of milk. He’s present at all design meetings, fit sessions, and final approvals. He’s made his way into photoshoots, been used as design inspiration, and even had his portrait painted at a giant tradeshow.

Norman is just one of many great dogs take up residence at the Toad offices. Over the years we’ve had Lucy the lunch lady, Leo the cuddle bug, Lincoln the scaredy cat, Sunny the tornado, Lana the starlet, Grom the snaggletooth, Bea the sleepy puggle, Truffle the Big Bird, and her little sister, Sophie.

Creating a dog-friendly work environment is part of our culture. Sure, sometimes they sleep on the job, but our canine colleagues make us better employees and happier people. Here are some of the benefits of having dogs in the office:

• Creates a positive, flexible, uplifting setting

• Promotes a work-life balance (hey there, afternoon walk!)

• Less stress = happier employees = more productivity

• Dogs can create camaraderie and trigger interactions that may not have happened without them (remember your class hamster in 1st grade? Same thing).

• They clean the kitchen floors

• They make the workplace fun (and awesome people want to work at fun places!)

• They make excellent Instagram models

• And it's even good for the pups – they learn to socialize with other humans and animals (and mail carriers)

So here's to letting this place to go the dogs. We think we'll keep it that way.