We are a pet-friendly workplace.

It’s good for the animals, it’s good for us and … if the dogs don’t bark too loudly, it’s often good for customers that come in.

Not every dog is here every day; except my dog Bella, who started coming with me on a regular basis about five years ago and now is part of the office staff. The two dogs that co-worker Michelle brings in a couple days a week are Zoey and Greta and co-worker Kristi often brings her dog Maya. So, on any given day, we have up to four dogs in the house.

Our long-term resident cat Pumpkin is comfortable with Bella, but does not like any of the other dogs. She knew Bella first and that’s the only dog she will tolerate. If you knew Pumpkin, you’d know she doesn’t tolerate much.

We also used to have my cat Yoda; he and Pumpkin lived together quite amicably here. As Yoda was failing, we had an outdoor cat show up. We named him Kenobi (as in Obi Wan) to keep the Star Wars vibe going. When Yoda passed, we were all glad to have Kenobi to shower some attention on, but he remained an outdoor cat. Pumpkin would glare at him through the window in her little ‘cat room’ at the back of our office while lying on a blanket in her big comfy chair.

It wasn’t long before Kenobi brought us a kitten; we have no idea where it came from but he joined the outdoor family and we named him Jar Jar Binks. He answers to both Jar Jar and Mr. Binks and pretty soon, he was as big as Kenobi.

But then, as sometimes happens with outdoor cats, we lost Kenobi to a traffic incident. It was tough but Jar Jar still needed us. He greets us every morning, meowing and running up on to the porch to wait (somewhat) patiently for his breakfast. He occasionally pokes his head in the back door but one look at Pumpkin and he knows he’s safer outside.

One morning, a tiny black kitten was out there with him; co-workers Melody and Michelle saw him as they arrived for work and Michelle brought him inside. When I got in a bit later, Marissa – who had already ‘adopted’ him – used her best puppy dog eyes to ask if we could keep him. We settled on the name Chewy (short for Chewbacca) since he was a loud fluff ball. But he only stayed a day, as he actually belonged next door and they came to retrieve him.

However, Chewy still occasionally shows up to share breakfast or dinner with Jar Jar on our back porch.

And, as if that revolving door of cats wasn’t enough, a friend of Marissa’s made an emergency call one morning a few weeks ago to say she had rescued a kitten from a gutter. She dropped her off with Marissa, who of course brought her here.

One look at that tiny little calico kitten that somebody dumped in a gutter melted our hearts: she was definitely a keeper.

We were going through our Star Wars names and had agreed on Boba Fett but every time Marissa typed it in her phone, it changed it to Hobbes.

Well, if you’ve ever seen that comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, about the little boy and his stuffed animal tiger, the name was perfect. So, Hobbes it was. And Hobbes now runs the place.

She chases toys up and down the hall. She chases dogs up and down the hall. Pumpkin hides from her. We all check under our feet to make sure we aren’t going to step on her. Any food you might be eating she considers fair game. And if we yell “Ouch!” it’s probably because she is climbing up our leg.

All that aside, she truly has brought us great joy.

She’s also a wee bit crazy, so she fits right in to our zoo of a workplace.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.