The University of Padua has recently adopted an innovative policy which allows teachers to bring their dogs to the workplace. This initiative, which has taken root in the Agripolis hub, is now officially regulated, marking a significant step forward in improving the well-being and quality of academic life.
Chobe, a Maremma dog, accompanies Professor Paolo Mongillo every day to the department of Comparative Biomedicine and Ethology on the Agripolis campus. Like Chobe, other dogs such as Reiko, Mustu, Rina and Achille have also become a daily presence in the university’s laboratories and offices. “Before it was just an accepted custom, now there is a regulation that allows it”, reveals Professor Mongillo, underlining how the presence of dogs has been officially recognized and regulated.
The presence of dogs is not just a matter of company for their owners. Studies have shown that dogs can reduce stress, facilitate social dynamics and improve overall well-being. “We work on dog behavior, a research activity that until some time ago was also the excuse to have our dogs with us whenever we could,” explains Mongillo. Now, thanks to regulation, the presence of dogs has become a benefit for the entire academic community.
But how does a dog’s day work “at work”? “We care about the dogs being well,” explains Mongillo. The dogs are taken out three or four times a day, which also encourages the owners to move and take breaks, increasing their well-being.. Chobe, for example, is used to spending her days working with her human, and like her, many other dogs wag their tails between studies and classrooms of Agripolis, in a cheerful riot of different breeds.
The applied ethology laboratory on the Agripolis campus is a happy place, where university professors, researchers and animals coexist joyfully. “There have never been any problems,” Mongillo notes. Even in the Pharmaceutical Sciences department, the presence of dogs is welcomed. Kora, a delightful fox terrier, is now considered the “therapist” of the department. “When someone is sad or stressed they come to Kora and immediately feel better,” says Professor Margherita Morpurgo.
The University of Padua is not the only one experimenting with this initiative. The University of Verona and the Iuav of Venice have also adopted similar policies. However, Padua is among the first in Italy to officially regulate the presence of dogs in the workplace. “It’s good for everyone,” Morpurgo emphasizes. Dogs at work reduce tension and anxiety, bring well-being to the entire environment and naturally they too feel better, alongside their humans.
