We all love cuddling with our pets, but when it’s time to work, some of them don’t get the “do not disturb” memo—just like this dog named Franklin.
The dachshund mix couldn’t help but be a bit clingy to his mom Lindsay Dyer—even while she’s working.
“He’s a super chill boy,” Lindsay told The Dodo. “As long as he can be with his people or his cat brother, Bagheera.”
Lindsay likes sitting on a gray wingback armchair while working, but Franklin only sees it as the perfect time to cuddle. As comfortable as the chair is, that arrangement wasn’t working for Lindsay.
Photo by Lindsay Dyer
That’s until she stumbled upon the perfect solution.
“When the pandemic started, I went full-time remote and spent a lot of time in my chair trying to type with a dog on my lap,” Lindsay said. “I saw that IKEA had a matching child chair. I was hoping that getting him his own chair would make him stop stealing mine and went to get it the first day IKEA opened back up.”
Lindsay admitted that her decision to get Franklin his own chair was “an entirely selfish one,” but it proved to be the answer to her clingy pet problems.
When she brought home the tiny matching chair, she placed Franklin’s favorite stuffed toy on it. The dog instantly knew what that meant, and the look on his face upon using it for the first time was priceless.
Photo by Lindsay Dyer
“Needless to say, he’s very pleased,” Lindsay said. “It’s his favorite spot in my office.”
However, Franklin can’t really enjoy the chair on his own. That’s because he has a cat brother named Bagheera, who also decided to make the tiny chair his lounging place.
Luckily, Franklin is one generous brother who always makes room for him.
“They are best friends and sometimes enemies,” their owner said. “They share the chair — much to Bag’s disgruntlement. But they constantly cuddle on the chair or any bed they can find and don’t like to sleep without the other.”
Not only is Lindsay working comfortably now, but her pets are also enjoying their new hangout!
Photo by Lindsay Dyer
And speaking of super clingy pets, this couple also had to find a way to get their furball named Ziggy off their laps during work.
Rebecca May and her husband, Alex, adopted Ziggy and her sister from a London shelter.
The cat was a bit shy at first, but she became more comfortable with her owners as time passed. In fact, she had become so at ease that invading her mom and dad’s personal space became her daily habit.
“When she bonds with someone it’s just really intense. She absolutely has to be sat on you,” Rebecca told The Dodo about Ziggy.
If their laps aren’t available, the feline will balance on their arms or shoulders. Usually, Rebecca and Alex don’t mind. But when they started to work from home more, things got a little tricky.
So, they came up with an idea: creating a decoy lap.
Alex took an old pair of pants and stuffed it with a duvet cover, a towel, and a heating pad. To make it extra realistic, he even added tennis shoes and a pillow as a stomach.
And it worked!
Ziggy quickly found the decoy lap and lounged there comfortably for four hours. So now, Rebecca and Alex get to enjoy “cat-free” working hours.
“He thought that creating a decoy would be funny, but I don’t think he expected it to actually work,” Rebecca said. “Harley was totally uninterested, but Ziggy loved it.”
While the decoy worked like a charm, Rebecca thinks it’s too scary to display all the time, so they only use it during a busy day of calls. After all, they love it when Ziggy cuddles up to them!
These pet owners are really clever, aren’t they?
If you know someone who has a clingy pet, tag them in this story!
STORY h/t : The Dodo (This site is for everyone who loves animals and wants to spread that love and make the world a better place for them.)