Life or rather work is better with pets?

Ok, so after the serious subjects lately I figure it's time for a bit of humor. Meet Yummy, my extrovert, and my brother's newest PR assistant.



My brother is currently visiting with us to help my father with things and while he is here, he is telecommuting for his work. He provides technical support and troubleshooting for a communications archive company. So while he is working during the day, it is from my home. While it's nice for us to think about bouncing out of bed and going straight to work in your jammies, having your sister's pets around can make those customer support calls interesting. Or retriving information on your computer while talking to a customer.

Well, I think Yum had decided that my brother needs a little PR help now and then. Yesterday apparently my brother had a an unhappy customer on the line he was patiently trying to help. The customer asks him where he's located and he tells the customer that he's based out of Portland, Oregon.  Little bit further into the call, and the customer is still grumpy when Yummy comes into the room, puts his front paws on my brother's knees and meows at him in a plaintive voice, obviously looking for love and affection.  The client hears this siamese meow and asks my brother, "What the heck was that? A Cat?"  My brother replied "Yep, it's my sisters cat.  I'm working remotely and he seems to think anytime is a fine time for him getting loved on."  To which the customer responds "Don't I know it. My Cat thinks the middle of a trading rush is a prime time to sit down in front of my computer screens."  They ended up laughing about it, and the situation was taken care of with the customer in a much better mood.

Hmmmmm, Now if only Yum would do that on cue! Animals are so good at relieving stress. And sometimes I think my brother thinks he's there to create it. He has also without warning jumped up, and either walked across the keyboard or in front of his monitors at inopportune times, usually at least once a day. Personally I think it's comic relief, reminding you to take time out and not get so wound up over things.  But then Yummy does it to me too, if he is adamant about wanting attention, he'll get up on the desk and then into your lap and stretch his bulk over your tummy and chest and then give you the sweetest, most polite, kiss on the tip of your nose, give you the baby blues, and demand attention. I am sure he's tried this trick on my brother too.

Maybe we need more like him working in public relations jobs!