Celebrating the power of dogs on Bring Your Dog to Work Day

10 August 2023 | Support

Today is ‘Bring Your Dog to Work Day’ – promoting and celebrating the benefits of having dogs at work.

As a growing number of businesses in the UK now allow dogs into the workplace, our own CEO, Tina Mitchell Skinner, shares her thoughts on the well-being and morale-lifting effect that her own dog, Leyah, brought to the Brain Tumour Support office over the years.

A dog is commonly known as ‘man’s best friend’ and in my own experience, I have found this to be so true. Coming from an upbringing where dogs weren’t part of daily life, and having been bitten by a dog when I was young, I had only ever been scared of dogs. So imagine the surprise of family and friends when they found out that we were getting a dog. No one was more surprised than me!

A bundle of fur, so tiny and totally dependent on me to look after her – it was love at first sight.

Our dear Leyah very quickly became part of the charity and was affectionately known as the ‘charity dog’.

From the moment she was toilet trained, she came to work with me every day. Her place by the window in my office was where she would watch the world go by and when someone rang the doorbell, she was the first up to welcome them in.

She attended Brain Tumour Support Group meetings, which were held in the office, and she was also known to accompany me in the car when I was travelling to visit groups or staff around the UK. She also came to the Patient and Family Weekend in Cheltenham where a place on the agenda was given for walking and spending time with your dog.

It is well known that dogs can reduce stress and anxiety and of course, as a loyal companion, they can also ease loneliness, many of these things which are experienced by someone affected by a brain tumour. There are current studies going on which are looking into the effects of pet therapy and the quality of life in brain tumour patients, and this is linked to the aggressive behaviours of high-grade brain tumours and their future trajectory versus a balanced quality of life and overall feelings of wellbeing.

The feedback, which we had from families who stroked Leyah and spent time with her during the groups, was that she brought joy and happiness to them and they felt that even just her presence near them changed their mood. Leyah also provided a distraction and laughter as she patiently waited by people to see if they would drop any crumbs from the much-coveted piece of cake or a biscuit. Even if only briefly, bringing this beautiful pup to work was a tonic that brain tumour families wanted and needed at that time.

The irony of this is that very sadly, after almost 15 years together, my beloved Leyah passed away just over a month ago and the vet told us, from the nature of the symptoms she displayed, that she had died from a brain tumour.

Our lovely Leyah supported the work of Brain Tumour Support and will always be fondly remembered for coming into the office, bringing happiness to our days and listening to us intently on our sad days. Oh, and of course, waiting for someone to have a birthday, so she could be part of the celebratory rituals of eating cake…..

Tina Mitchell Skinner, Brain Tumour Support CEO & Founder