Here’s the thing… Krypto has been in my life for a little more than two months now. And ever since the beginning, he has gone with me to the office every time I’ve gone to work.

Until today…

If you saw my post yesterday, you know I had a rough day. Honestly, Krypto’s behavior in the office was a part of the roughness.

Let me give you a rundown of what Krypto is typically like at work…

• Krypto is extremely and annoyingly friendly.
• Because my office is the first one people come to when they enter our building, Krypto expects to greet and be greeted by everyone who walks through that door, be they human or canine.
• Krypto has made many friends, both human and canine.
• Krypto has the worst case of FOMO I’ve ever seen in any creature, be they human or canine.
• For a long time, the standard baby gate was enough to keep Krypto contained to my office.
• However, being the super-dog that he is, Krypto has a six food vertical and can easily leap over the baby gate in a single bound.
• This has led to Krypto escaping and running loose around our office hallways a number of times.
• This has led to one or two complaints from individuals in the office who do not consider this sort of behavior “adorable.”
• Because Krypto has such athletic ability, he also likes to jump on desks while people are attempting to work, eat, or conduct Zoom meetings.
• During Zoom meetings, Krypto likes to stand directly in front of the camera for all the world to see him.
• Krypto likes to be the center of attention.
• Krypto does not necessarily need people or other dogs focused on him at all times, just as long as they’re all in the same room as him and close by.
• Krypto will cry if said people or other dogs leave his vicinity, even if he has been ignoring them for some length of time.

Those are the bullet points that make up a typical day at work for Krypto.

Yesterday, because we are unable to use the baby gate to keep Krypto in my office, the door must now be closed. Krypto absolutely does not like this because he does not get to see/greet everyone who comes through the door throughout the day. But it’s the only option as there are individuals in the office that would not appreciate him running around and potentially hopping up on their desks while they work.

The team that I work with had a Zoom meeting in our boardroom at noon yesterday. Krypto enjoys being in the boardroom because it’s the largest room in our building and he is able to appropriately express his “zoomies.” But he also likes to jump onto the conference table and walk around like he owns the joint. Guess where he decided to be when we were on that Zoom meeting. If you said, “Directly in front of the camera,” you’d be right.

In a room where the microphone picks up every voice and every noise, I could not very well shout at Krypto to get down. So when I made a move to take him off the table and away from the camera, he thought we were playing a game. So he took off… Krypto did several laps around the room, then started barking at me. Can’t have a dog barking throughout the Zoom meeting, can we? So I grabbed him and took him back downstairs to my office and closed the door.

Now, we’ve already covered the fact that Krypto does not like being closed in the office without the ability to see what’s going on in the hallway. It’s worse when I’m not shut up in there with him. To say Krypto has separation anxiety is an understatement. So when I returned upstairs for the rest of that Zoom meeting, Krypto was left to whine and cry and howl and bark. And Krypto has a bigger voice than his small stature would imply.

During that time, while I did not have my laptop with me, I received two emails from two different individuals asking me to do something about my dog. Because he seemed “distressed” and was being very loud. And because one of these emails came from a person who has complained about Krypto before, I grew very upset.

And it’s not because this person complains about Krypto. It’s because this person complains to other people about Krypto. Yesterday’s email was the first time this person has ever said anything directly to me about Krypto. Because of this, I decided that I would not take Krypto to work with me this morning.

I realize that it is only a very vocal minority that has a problem with Krypto and his behaviors. But I’m tired of that vocal minority complaining to other people about my dog. If I remove Krypto from the equation, then they can find something else to complain about.

I must mention that the vast majority of individuals in my office adore Krypto. Even a coworker who has a genuine phobia of dogs due to a past traumatic event loves my dog. But isn’t it funny how we can allow one or two negative and loud voices to stand out above the crowd?

This morning as I left my apartment and repeatedly told Krypto to STAY, it just about broke my heart. But the decision was made and, in my anger and slight depression, I stuck to it. I came back home to check on him at lunch and decided to work from home for the rest of the day. And since I am only working half the day tomorrow, I had just about decided to leave him at home again tomorrow as well.

But then I saw the following video from ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt…

After joining Scott for a good cry, I decided to say screw anyone who doesn’t like my dog. Krypto will be by my side whenever possible from now on and for the rest of his life. I know I can’t take him grocery shopping or to the movies. But I can take him to the office and I don’t care what anyone in that building has to say about it. It was made clear to me that our office is a pet-friendly office before day one.

I love Krypto. He is sweet. He is smart. He is loyal. He is obnoxious. He is frustrating. He is imperfect. And in all of that, he is perfect.