Last modified: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:22 AM EDT Alfie always wears a tie when he accompanies his owners, Sue and Charlie Russo of Norfolk, to work. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin) Ruff day at the office? BY TARA VOCINO FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE Sue Russo, Belinda Gabryl, Dan Becker, and Paul Yorkis can’t get enough of their pooches, and they’re among millions of Americans who bring their pets to work. According to a survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, nearly one in five employers allow workers to bring their pets to work, and more than half of the survey respondents said that can lead to a more creative work environment and cut absenteeism. Russo, a Norfolk resident and co-publisher of Holliston-based The Little Green Phone Books, brings her 4-year-old, 5-pound chihuahua Alfie to work once a week for half the day and includes him in monthly office meetings. Alfie is actually part of the meeting agenda and dresses up appropriately — he often sports Red Sox jackets, a cat tie (dog ties are too big for him), a black rock star T-shirt and sunglasses. He’s known as “the CEO.” “In the office, we have a little bed for him and he curls up. He doesn’t bark a lot. He’s very calm,” said Russo. “He does get excited when he sees people coming in.” Russo said she will bring in Alfie if she is meeting with customers whom she knows like dogs. And because Alfie weighs less than her cat Blackie, he’s not intimidating to customers in general or her five employees. Russo doesn’t bring Blackie to the office because, unlike Alfie, the cat’s not trained to sit. Alfie has been accompanying Russo to work since he was a puppy; employees enjoy the dog’s presence and he tends to enliven the office mood, she said. “We’re a friendly, family-oriented, local business,” said Russo, whose husband, Charlie Russo, is co-publisher of the Little Green Phone Book. “We know ahead of time that everybody enjoys dogs and nobody has allergies. “Some people do and that can be an issue, but he has a very positive influence on everybody. They smile and say, ‘How’s Alfie doing? He’s got a cute sweater on today.’” North Attleboro resident Belinda Gabryl, a ceramic artist, figure sculptor and adjunct art professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, brings her 135-pound bull mastiff, Ike, to her Attleboro studio. Gabryl said she is less likely to go home early if her dog is with her, and customers don’t mind his presence — at least until they see how big he is, she joked. “Cats are probably harder to restrict. They jump on tables and can disturb my work,” she said. “Reptiles need an environment that is warm and rabbits are less domesticated. They might chew.” Dan Becker, owner and guitar maker at Becker’s Guitars in Attleboro, brings his 10-year-old Rottweiler mix, Otis, to his workplace. He joked that if his eight co-workers, who make and repair guitars, didn’t want Otis around, he wouldn’t hire them. “I’m a dog person; I like his company and he keeps me company,” Becker said of his canine companion, who has only one eye because of a previous surgery. “He’s my best friend,” Becker said. “Otis feels like he has a job to do. His job is to tell me when someone’s here.” Becker said customers like seeing the dog at his business but often sympathize with his eye condition. Paul Yorkis, president of Patriot Real Estate Inc. in Medway, brings his 12-year-old, 40-pound cocker spaniel, Toby, to work and keeps his turtle, For Sale, in the office. “I’m familiar with larger companies having dogs,” he said. “It’s a great idea. It creates a more relaxing environment.” Besides that, Yorkis doesn’t have to go home to let Toby outside to relieve himself. “When I’m in the office, I’m usually here four or five times a week,” Yorkis said. “(Toby) comes in partly because he doesn’t like to be left at home. He loves people and likes to be with me. When he sees me getting ready to leave, and I put on my coat or walk around with my shoes on, he says, ‘OK, where are we going?’ He wants to come with me.” Toby even goes for car rides — in the passenger’s seat — to meet customers and builders. “One of the reasons I’m comfortable having him here is he’s a mellow dog. He’s very laid back, and he likes people.” Everyone associated with his office — there are four other agents — like dogs, but Yorkis noted that if someone had allergies, he wouldn’t bring him in when they work, as work and respect come first. Toby’s father, Clancy, was a regular at Condon’s Hardware in Medway, which is on the same street as Patriot Real Estate. For Sale, a Red Eared Slider water turtle, lives in Yorkis’s office while her “husband,” Sold, lives at home. After For Sale nibbled at Sold’s hind leg and bit the tip of his tail off, they were separated. Yorkis said most animals are OK in small businesses, except snakes. “Now, a pet boa constrictor, how are you going to take care of it while you’re in the office and make sure it’s not slivering around?” he said. Tara Vocino is a Wheaton College student who is interning at The Sun Chronicle this summer. She can be reached at vocino_tara@wheatonma.edu.