by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
When Minitex's head of IT, Paul Swanson, proposed a "Bring Your Pet to Work Day," it was a no-brainer for Valerie Horton, Minitex's director. A staff survey had recently confirmed that 106 percent of the Minitex staff loves cats.
When Minitex's head of IT, Paul Swanson, proposed a "Bring Your Pet to Work Day," it was a no-brainer for Valerie Horton, Minitex's director. A staff survey had recently confirmed that 106 percent of the Minitex staff loves cats.
"That survey defied logic," said Horton. "But we do love cats. And what was the worst that could happen?"
They soon found out. Organizers expected a few dozen staff members to bring in a cat. Instead, the offices were overrun.
"They were everywhere," explained a visibly shaken Sara Ring as she recovered in her living room, shrouded in a cozy blanket and cradling a cup of hot cocoa. "More and more people were bringing cats, and they started to pile up in all the common areas. You couldn't even walk to a meeting."
Eyewitness accounts describe consternation that soon turned to panic. Unclaimed print jobs littered the floor along with drifts of cat dander and the nearly unrecognizable remains of festive scratching posts set up that morning by well-intentioned organizers. Work ground to a halt for a time until individuals began to set up satellite work stations in nearby buildings and even on the Washington Avenue pedestrian bridge.
"That space is no longer usable," lamented Horton. "We're extremely grateful to the University Libraries for the new space they are designing for us in Wilson Library. It's going to be absolutely beautiful."
