Pet Company Awards Dog 'Employee of the Month' 15 Times During Pandemic: She's 'a Lifesaver'

Lottie the 8-year-old border collie is Yappy.com's most decorated employee, human or dog, thanks to the joy she has brought her coworkers during the pandemic

Lottie is a bit of an overachiever.

According to a release from Yappy.com, the company — an online personalized gift shop for dogs, cats, and their owner based in Manchester, England — has awarded Lottie the 8-year-old border collie the "Employee of the Month" honor 15 times over the past year and a half.

Yappy.com revealed the dog's winning streak on their Instagram account, posting a video of the brands' Employee of the Month wall at their headquarters. The clip shows that Lottie won the Employee of the Month title from April 2020 to June 2021. For each month Lottie won, there is a posed photo of the pooch, including shots of her working out, napping, and dressing up as characters from Tiger King with her owner — Yappy.com's founder, John Smith.

dog employee of the month
Yappy.com

Lottie's winning streak is related to her ability to keep her coworkers smiling. Once the pandemic began, and Smith and his staff of 25 were placed under lockdown, the founder regularly shared photos and videos of Lottie with his colleagues to bring them joy while the company navigated the challenges of the pandemic.

"Like many UK business owners, during the first lockdown, I found myself suddenly juggling the demands of running a business and trying to ensure that the morale of my staff was kept intact at a time when the whole nation was coming to terms with working from home and communicating virtually for the first time. When it became possible to make trips into the office for a change of scenery, I still didn't see many staff at all, and most days found myself working alone five days a week," Smith shared in Yappy.com's release.

"On those days, Lottie was a lifesaver and kept me going with cuddles and constant entertainment. I decided to start sharing photos of our days with the team to keep everyone smiling. Lottie was a total star and definitely deserved to be awarded 'Empawee' of the Month for simply making the whole team smile on busy days and for keeping me company," he added.

dog employee of the month
Yappy.com

The rest of Yappy.com recently started returning to the office and got their first looks at the current status of the "Employee of the Month" wall and appears to approve of Lottie canine's reign over the title.

Yappy's Instagram post about Lottie's 15 titles included the teasing caption, "Little did we know that during lockdown the leader of the #YappyPack, John, would rip up the 'Employee of the Month' rulebook."

dog employee of the month
Yappy.com

Understandably, as a pet company, Yappy.com is home to many dog owners who enjoy bringing their pups to work when possible. The company's pooch posse is so sizeable that Yappy is looking for Chief Puppy Officer to keep all the office dogs happy.

"Dogs have always been welcome in our office, but as more staff who've recently got a dog gradually return to the office, we needed a policy in place to ensure that they can also juggle their roles as new 'pawrents.' The Chief Puppy Officer will play a key role in making sure that the team can continue to create amazing new gift products for our customers and their pets," Smith said of the position.

Related Articles