Over 30,0000 American business people currently employ service dogs to stop them from saying things that could destroy their careers. One of them is Tina Lorris, an insurance adjuster at Jackson/Thomas in Detroit. Sitting in a Midtown brewpub with her Oldham Terrier lying at her feet, she talks about what led her to get the dog, named Buddy.
“One of the girl….” she starts to say. Buddy jumps up, growling. “Excuse me,” Lorris corrects herself. “One of the women from Human Resources signed me up for a correctness dog.” She acknowledges she was about to say “girls,” a word that can get you in hot water.
The terrier has been trained to recognize 1,154 offensive terms and can sense when they’re about to be spoken. Some dogs know the complete list of over 2,500 words that are forbidden at US workplaces.
He’s really saved my as…” Buddy growls again. “I mean he’s saved my butt more than once!” says Lorris.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep track, she says. “Ass” was actually permitted until 2019. Then a federal employee filed suit because his was called “enormous” by a colleague. So the word was added to the list – along with “whoopee,” “incidental,” and 380 others that year. “Butt” is currently under review, so Lorris is using it while she can.
She says her employer – who she won’t name – has been more than tolerant with her inappropriate ways, providing her with help on a number of occasions, including three different rehab programs.
“I even spent a week at a Presbyterian conference,” she says. “They don’t let you say anything.” But she still ended up calling a co-worker “Peaches,” the incident that led to HR getting her the dog. “I guess it was the best thing I shouldn’t have said,” she says.
