Unleashed | A dog's life

Another year in the office has begun. There is no doubt that having a dog around makes every day a good deal more bearable but I suspect those of you who do not have the experience of a dog in the office will be unaware of the challenges and merriment which can arise.

First, a bit of background. Cosmo is a large black labrador. He has complete reign of the office and he wanders where he likes. He is normally to be found underneath my desk, quite often asleep. Issues do arise from time to time, such as when a client had sat themselves down in the chair opposite me and while I was giving her advice as to her dispute Cosmo produced a licked clean yoghurt pot which had been in my bin and kindly placed it in her lap, as dogs do. 'What do I do with this,' she said in a rather confused way. Fortunately Cosmo normally behaves in an exemplary fashion. He is at his best when there are children in reception whom he has a deep, enduring rapport with. While children are a little cautious of him, as he rolls over on to his back so they can tickle his tummy they realise that he is little more than a great big teddy bear. Some of the children are not keen to leave the office as playing with such a lovely soft toy is not something that they wish to stop doing.

The staff, of course, have to be well-trained. Cosmo will sit by their desks as they have their breakfast or their lunch and stare intently at them with his deep brown eyes conveying, as labradors do, the message that they have not been fed for months and are very hungry. Staff have been told that Cosmo is not to be fed although that does not stop him doing a little truffling in the bins under the desk as he is acutely aware of the fact that there are one or two members of staff that do not like the crusts on their sandwiches and he will do his best to find those.

Cosmo also has his extra legal uses. In one family mediation Cosmo trotted in behind the mediator and both parties expressed their delight at having a dog present at the mediation. Indeed the couple (both dog owners and lovers) were so pleased to have a dog present that they resolved their difficulties in a very short space of time.

I have found Cosmo useful as he can take the tension out of situations. Sometimes clients find him a very relaxing presence as he sits by them with his head in their lap.

Other members of staff quite enjoy taking him for a walk. I, in particular, enjoy taking him for a walk which gets me out of the office and clears the head in a way that only a brisk dog walk can.

There are disadvantages. Clients have realised that a dog bone is cheaper than a bottle of wine and cooked liver possibly even cheaper. ?No one has come in with a chicken carcass yet although one client did sweetly ask me whether he liked chicken carcases.

There are also hazards in that some staff take off their shoes and leave them under their desks. Shoes are deeply attractive to labradors who regard them as good prizes to chew upon. The shoe if not retrieved quickly can soon become less of a shoe and more of a mush. Fortunately our lost shoe count is still very low.

Cosmo did not come in to the office until he was about three-months-old, by which time he had been taught very firmly that chewing through telephone wires and electrical cables was a very bad thing. He had already chewed through a telephone cable at home and this is not something he replicates within the office.

But Cosmo is a joy for the clients, ?for myself and I hope the staff. He adds something extra to an office and most importantly he humanises sometimes ?quite a scary place. We should never ?forget that people who come in to see a solicitor find this a very difficult and terrifying occasion. Indeed a visit to ?a solicitors can often be far worse than ?a visit to a dentist.
Having a dog to settle people's nerves and put matters in to perspective helps considerably. I urge you all to get yourself ?a big black labrador, it helps so very much to get you through the year.