Rantz: Seattle’s latest excuse to avoid returning to the office? Blaming the dog

Some Seattle workers have found a new excuse to fight return-to-office mandates: their pets. After years of resisting commutes, meetings, and normal adult responsibilities, employees are now threatening to quit if they can’t stay home with their dogs and cats.

A report from Employee Borderless highlights the contrived crisis. According to survey data, 67 percent of pet owners say they’d rather quit their job than comply with a return-to-office policy and leave their pets at home. And since 71 percent of American households now own pets, the group argues this could devastate companies demanding people show up to work again.

I’m a dog owner myself. My Belgian Malinois-mix D’Artagnan is family, and I don’t like leaving him at home. But using him as an excuse to get out of going to the office is absurd. Adults go to work. Dogs stay home (or go to daycare). That’s the deal. We don’t structure society around pet care, no matter how many “studies” or HR surveys claim we should.

Entitlement culture getting in the way of growing the local economy

The pushback is reaching new levels of entitlement.

Employee Borderless points to HR professionals who insist pet-friendly policies are “essential” for retaining talent, and they tout data showing companies with such policies see higher engagement. They even cite Reddit posts from nervous workers panicking about leaving their pets alone for “10 or more hours.”

Here’s the thing: there are solutions. Doggy daycare exists. Pet walkers exist. Even dog-sitting apps exist. For decades, people managed to balance work and pet ownership without holding their employers hostage. Pretending it’s an impossible tradeoff is laughable.

Meanwhile, the same Seattle employers making headlines for return-to-office mandates—Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks—are trying to restore some semblance of productivity. Starbucks is moving to four days a week on-site. King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn has floated a three-day plan for public employees. This isn’t a corporate conspiracy; it’s a recognition that in-person collaboration still matters.

Comply with pet owners? Uhm, hard pass.

And yet, groups like Employee Borderless frame it as a stark choice: comply or leave. Companies have always set workplace expectations. Employees get to decide if they want to accept the job. Starbucks even offered workers a one-time payment if they didn’t want to come back. Uber framed it bluntly: if you don’t like the policy, find another gig. That’s how the job market works.

Of course, there are workplaces where hybrid arrangements make sense. But let’s stop pretending a Labrador’s separation anxiety is a reason to blow up return-to-office policies. I care about my dog more than I do most people, but I also care about doing my job. And if D’Artagnan can survive without me for a few hours, so can your doodle mix.

Seattle businesses don’t need another reason for workers to dig in their heels. The city already suffers from a culture of excuses—high taxes, low productivity, and endless demands from employees who want all the perks with none of the accountability. Adding “my dog won’t let me” to the list is just embarrassing.

It’s time to grow up. Get back to the office. And if you really can’t figure out how to manage your pet while working? Maybe you weren’t ready to own one in the first place.

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