Yeah, that’s probably true.

“Therefore, having it there means that one prefers the dog’s company to the comfort and full attention of one’s guests.”
And given that my dog is pretty much my favorite person, that’s definitely so.

Note: I rarely actually bring my dog to campus–fewer than 20 times in the past 6 years, and mostly during summer session. But damn, it is great to have her around–and on those days, I have definitely been more interested in my comfort and mental health than the minimal discomfort that was potentially experienced by others during those times (my dog doesn’t bark, lick people, make sudden moves or indoor messes–she is generally invisible except when I’m walking her through the halls). Fair enough.

They may complain about you behind your back, though.

(I’m not endorsing this status quo. I’m just describing it.)

And Tigs, about fears (irrational or otherwise) . . .

I am in fact afraid of dogs. I can deal with service dogs, because they are invariably extremely well trained, and because I recognize that they allow other people to function more fully in society. (I still keep my distance, but I don’t run screaming from them.) You might say I need to get over my irrational fear of dogs, but I say “Why?”

I don’t work for a vet or the humane society. I’m an American historian. If I was afraid of books, or nineteen-year-olds, or boring committee meetings, I would say “Yeah, I’ve got to get over that fear so that I can do my job.” But dogs? I see no reason to think that as an academic, I can’t expect a reasonably dog-free work environment.

The answer is clear enough. Yes. There are a million ways to rationalize it away, of course, as you just did. But at some point one must admit that by having a dog in the office, one inflicts the dog on those who must visit. Therefore, having it there means that one prefers the dog’s company to the comfort and full attention of one’s guests. Another analogy might be: what if a minimalist workspace helps you to think, so you don’t put a visitor’s chair in your office? So it doesn’t break any rules, fine. If you want all of your students/visitors to have to stand before you, shifting from foot to foot (and some impaired guests to perhaps not be able to visit you at all), you could probably do that too.

But the least you can do is to be upfront about the fact that you are focused on your own environment and mental health to such a large degree that you deeply discount the comfort of others. (This last sentence helps me to understand why dogs in faculty offices are an East Coast phenomenon. I’ll bet they’re prevalent in California schools too.)

However, this is definitely the most horrible thing I’ve read in the thread:

“There was a (married? I think?) pair of poli sci professors who had a very small black dog that spent every day in their shared office.”

Ick.

And have you read Mark Rowland’s The Philosopher and the Wolf (2009)? He used to take a wolf into his lectures…