A Round of A-Paws for Pets on Campus

Photo essay captures the dogs—and occasional cat—who accompany their owners to work

Photo Essay

A Round of A-Paws for Pets on Campus

Photo essay captures the dogs—and occasional cat—who accompany their owners to work

August 24, 2023

BU Today staff

Cydney Scott

It’s summer—a time when BU’s bustling campus takes on a noticeably more chill vibe. Classroom buildings are largely dark, the dress codes more relaxed, and offices tend to be sparsely populated as faculty and staff take advantage of the time to get away.

It’s also the time of year when you’re most likely to encounter in the hallway a furry companion or two, faithfully accompanying their owner to work for the occasional office visit—often to the delight of colleagues who welcome the sight of a wagging tail and a lick or two.

BU photographer Cydney Scott spent part of the summer photographing some BU pet owners and their four-legged friends. Take a look. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the final dog days of August.

Kori MacDonald with Nova and Stella

Nova’s favorite hobby: spying on the neighbors through the window of MacDonald’s Malden home
Favorite treat: likes all foods, but especially enjoys Greenies pill pockets
Favorite thing to do with her owner: go on trail walks and chase squirrels and chipmunks

Stella’s favorite hobby: following Nova around
Favorite treat: all things potato—tater tots, french fries, hash browns
Favorite thing to do with her owner: people-watch during trips to Marshalls

Stella is more likely to accompany MacDonald to work than Nova, who is afraid of the car. “Stella knows where she is the second we turn onto Bay State Road,” MacDonald says. “She starts to cry out a bit, she’s excited to see her office friends!” Once ensconced in MacDonald’s office, Stella settles down before wandering into other offices to say hello. MacDonald says she then entices her to take a nap. While she naps, folks stop by to give her a quick pet. On the rare occasions when Nova comes to BU, “she’s a social butterfly and has adopted the adventurous side of her older, but smaller sister, and will walk into offices to say hello.” Colleagues tell MacDonald that the dogs’ presence offers a pleasant diversion: “They say it’s a nice break in the day to get some puppy love.”

Photo: Kori MacDonald, a tan woman wearing a green dress, sits in a chair as she feeds a white border collie mix dog. To her right, a white bichon shih tzu mix rests in a small dog bed on her desk. — Kori MacDonald, programs and events manager at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, with her dogs, 6-year-old border collie mix Nova, and 17-year-old bichon shih tzu mix Stella, in her 16th-floor CDS office.

Photo: Michelle Njoroge, a black woman with long box braids and wearing a plaid collared shirt and jeans, sits and works at her desk as her white and brown merle cockapoo dog sits in her lap. — Michelle Njoroge (CAS’20), academic advisor at the College of Arts & Sciences, and her three-year-old chocolate merle cockapoo Nova, in Njoroge’s advising office on the fourth floor of 100 Bay State Road.

Michelle Njoroge (CAS’20) and Nova

Favorite hobby: cuddling with her mom
Favorite treat: wishbones (beef chews) from Polkadog Bakery
Favorite thing to do with her owner: take walks around Boston’s South End

Nova loves visiting campus on the occasional summer day. “As soon as we pull into the Kenmore parking lot, Nova will start letting out her excited whines to be let out of the car,” says Njoroge, who received her dog as a graduation gift from her parents three years ago. “As soon as I unbuckle her from the car she essentially sprints out and pulls me to the entrance of the Yawkey Center. She then leads me to the elevator and through the fourth floor to where my office is located and will sit wagging her tail as I fumble with my keys to open the door.”

On days Nova comes to campus, Njoroge sets up a dog blanket and water dish under her desk, along with Nova’s favorite plush toys. “Nova is very cuddly, so she will often beg to be picked up and will lay on my lap,” Njoroge says, adding that after a lunchtime walk along Bay State Road, Nova likes to settle down for a nap. When she wakes, it’s time to play with her toys. And she’s proven a big hit with Njoroge’s coworkers: “They’re always overjoyed to have her in the office.”

Chris Kolovos and Circe

Favorite hobby: chasing bunnies in the backyard
Favorite treat: pizza crusts
Favorite thing to do with her owner: go for long runs through the woods and play fetch in the yard

Photo: Chris Kolovos, a white man wearing a long-sleeved, blue collared shirt and black pants, turns in his chair as he smiles and pets the head of a lab mix dog. — Chris Kolovos, BU Academy head of school, with his nine-year-old rescue lab mix Circe, in his office at BUA.

Photo: Zoe Marsiglia, a young woman wearing a green dress and knitted white sweater, smiles as she sits next to, Lou Brum, an older white man wearing a navy blue and white striped shirt and jeans. A white cockapoo dog sits in his lap and looks excitedly at Marsiglia. — Zoe Marsiglia (CAS’24), student coordinator and program lead for Innovate@BU’s First-Year Innovation Fellowship program, with her three-year-old cockapoo Louie, at the BUild Lab. Louie’s favorite person in the BUild Lab is Marsiglia’s colleague Lou Brum (holding Louie). Brum is BUild Lab’s events coordinator.

Zoe Marsiglia (CAS’24) and Louie

Favorite hobby: greeting people
Favorite treat: dried chicken feet
Favorite thing to do with his owner: take walks to the local dog park

Erin Murdock (Wheelock’18, Questrom’23) and Henry

Favorite hobby: stealing his humans’ socks
Favorite treat: Greenies pet treats
Favorite thing to do with his owner: take a trip to the dog park

Henry is not a morning dog and doesn’t love being yanked out of bed to come to work. But when he does come to campus with Murdock, they usually arrive between 8 and 9 am. He takes a morning nap until 11 am or so, when the two then go outside for a quick bathroom break. “Then it’s lunchtime for the little man,” Murdock says. “He’s still a puppy, so he gets three meals a day for now.” After lunch, Henry “typically has a steady stream of visitors coming to say hello and gets some pets.” He takes another solid afternoon nap, before he and Murdock wrap up around 5 pm. Then it’s on to the dog park after work, which is on their way home.

“When Henry is at work with me, people are typically pleasantly surprised and excited to see him. And when he isn’t at work with me, people are typically disappointed,” Murdock says. “Often, I have been greeted with ‘Where’s Henry?!’”

Photo: Erin Murdock, a white woman wearing a black dress and jean jacket, kneels as she holds a stuffed brown toy above the head of her Boston terrier dog. The black and white terrier jumps and tugs at the toy. — Erin Murdock (Wheelock’18, Questrom’23), financial manager at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, with her five-month-old Boston terrier Henry, in her 16th-floor office at CDS.

Photo: Chelsea Houlihan, a white woman wearing a grey and white tye-dye shirt and black pants, looks to the left as she holds the leash to her brown rescue mix dog. They both walk down a quiet street. — Chelsea Houlihan (Wheelock’22), master’s program administrator at the College of Arts & Sciences computer science department, with her three-year-old rescue mix Astro, taking a walk along Granby Street.

Chelsea Houlihan (Wheelock’22) and Astro

Favorite hobby: chasing squirrels
Favorite treat: peanut butter or bone marrow
Favorite thing to do with his owner: hike in New Hampshire or at the Cat Rock Loop at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Mass.

Lucy van Beever (MET’17) and Kane

Favorite hobby: swimming, and fetching a tennis ball, dropping it, and rolling around on top of it
Favorite treat: bread
Favorite thing to do with his owner: take walks

A typical day for a Kane when he’s on campus starts with a walk along the Charles River Esplanade and some barking at geese. “He’s just doing his job after all, as a bird dog,” van Beever says. “We then get some fresh water and settle in by going around to each colleague’s office and saying hello. Kane has some favorite colleagues who cave when he begs for food!”

After that, it’s a morning nap (for Kane, not his owner) while van Beever sends out emails and runs meetings, followed by a game of tug-of-war with Mr. Potato Head (a soft chew toy some students from van Beever’s career class gifted him). Then it’s on to a quick lunchtime stroll along Comm Ave. “Lots of students stop and ask to pet him or take his photo,” van Beever says. “Everyone loves Kane. He definitely knows when I ask him if he wants to come to the office. He loves the visits and feels right at home.”

Photo: Nine year old golden retriever Kane sits through a staff meeting with his owner Lucy van Beever. A white woman with blonde hair is shown sitting at a desk with laptop open. She wears a black top and jeans as a golden retriever dogs smiles and lies at her feet. Other staff workers sit at similar desks with laptops open. — Lucy van Beever (MET’17) (left), senior director of career operations at the Feld Center for Career & Alumni Engagement, with her nine-year-old golden retriever Kane, during a staff meeting.

Photo: Chris DeVits, a white man wearing glasses, a black collared shirt, and khaki shorts, stands in his office as he gives his black and white Irish setter dog a treat. — Chris DeVits (Wheelock’10), director of administration at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, offers a treat to his 11-year-old Irish setter Bella, in his 16th-floor office at CDS.

Chris DeVits (Wheelock’10) and Bella

Favorite hobby: chasing birds
Favorite treat: deli meat (“She hears the deli meat drawer open and comes running.”)
Favorite thing to do with her owner: go on hikes

Emily Ryan and Whiskey Gus

Favorite hobby: chewing things and licking people
Favorite treat: hot dogs and cheese
Favorite thing to do with his owner: play fetch

Photo: Emily Ryan, a woman wearing a red BU collared shirt and khaki shorts, looks down a hallway as a cocker spaniel puppy dog races down towards the camera. — Emily Ryan, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the College of Engineering, with Whiskey Gus, her five-month-old cocker spaniel, in the hallway outside her Cummington Mall office.

Photo: Brian Baldeck, a white man with long, curly hair and wearing a Hawaiian-themed orange shirt, sits at his desk and works on his computer. A Yorkshire terrier Chihuahua mix dog wearing a matching shirt sits in a dog bed to his right and looks up at the camera. — Brian Baldeck, web content manager at Marketing & Creative Services, with his seven-year-old Yorkshire terrier–Chihuahua mix Penny, during a Zoom meeting.

Brian Baldeck and Penny

Favorite hobby: sitting on the back of the couch while looking out the window
Favorite treat: anything from Polkadog Bakery, especially the Chicken Littles and cake batter bit
Favorite thing to do with her owner: Walkies! Alternatively, snuggles

“A typical day for Penny usually involves visiting every single office and cubicle in the building to make sure that we’ve said hello to everyone, and getting spoiled with treats,” says Baldeck. “While I’m working, Penny likes to take a little snooze, either under my desk, in her bed, or lying just outside my cubicle so she can keep tabs of everyone’s coming and going. She is very good about letting me get my work done, but also knows when I say goodbye at the end of a Zoom meeting that it’s time for more attention and scratches, and she doesn’t hesitate to remind me of that fact. A stroll up and down Comm Ave is always a highlight of the day.”

Her presence “seems to be a highlight of most everyone’s day/week/month,” Baldeck says, adding: “The most asked question I get is: ‘When is Penny coming back to visit?’” Penny, for her part, loves all the attention: “Her excited ‘wigglebutts’ show she’s loving every moment,” Baldeck says.” The more excited someone is to see her, the more excited she is.”

Colleen Gilman Kenney and G’raha

Favorite hobby: playing in his cat tunnel
Favorite treat: dried minnows
Favorite thing to do with his owner: play fetch

During the summer, G’raha comes to work on the T each Wednesday with Kenney. “When I get the backpack out from the closet, G’raha jumps right into it and gets ready for the harness to be put on,” Kenney says. During the commute, “he can poke his head out to look at everything and everyone. It’s not a panicked thing—it’s more a look of awe.” The one thing he doesn’t like: the noise. “He’s not excited about the screeching sounds of the Green Line—that’s the only part of the day he doesn’t care for.”

Once he arrives at BU, G’raha is anxious to get out of his harness and stretch his legs. Being a cat on campus, he attracts a lot of attention. “Everyone expects a dog chilling in the office, but never a cat. As people pass my office it is very easy to tell who a cat person is from the initial squeals once they see him,” Kenney says. “Lots of pictures, lots of compliments on his patterning, lots of questions about what breed he is, and lots of promises to return on another Wednesday to play with him some more.” Pet and owner share a lunch hour, where G’raha enjoys a can of shredded meat. His excited meowing in anticipation of the meal often draws the attention of passersby. After lunch, it’s time again to go back in the harness and leash, and then there’s a quick walk around the 16th floor to see what new area he wants to explore. “During our last couple of hours in the office, he is absolutely pooped and switches from naps on my lap to naps on his donut bed,” Kenney says. “He sleeps the entire way home in his cat backpack.”

Photo: Colleen Gilman Kenney, A white woman wearing glasses, a black shirt, and jeans, leans over and pets her silver snow bengal cat. The cat wears a black harness and lounges on a yellow couch. — Colleen Gilman Kenney, senior academic advisor at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, with her five-month-old silver snow bengal cat G’raha, in one of the lounge areas on the 16th floor of CDS.

Photo: Maria Olivares, a tan woman wearing a grey long sleeved shirt and black pants, sits at her desk and smiles lovingly at her brown cockapoo dog. she holds the dog in her arms and smiles loving at it. — Maria Olivares, research assistant professor of language and literacy education at the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, with her eight-month-old cockapoo, Oreo, in her office at the Earl Center for Learning & Innovation on the Fenway Campus.

Maria Olivares and Oreo

Favorite hobby: wrestling with a squirrel hand puppet
Favorite treat: Charlee Bear Original Crunch treats
Favorite thing to do with her owner: play fetch with stuffed animals

Rachel Edwards (CAS’19) with Bea (sitting in chair) and Tobi

Bea’s favorite hobby: judging Tobi
Favorite treat: carrots, sliced watermelon, and dehydrated sweet potato chips
Favorite thing to do with her owner: sit and lay on top of her owner

Tobi’s favorite hobby: playing with toys while making quasi-Pokémon sounds
Favorite treat: Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Burger Bites
Favorite thing to do with his owner: play fetch (endlessly)

“Tobi loves coming to campus. As soon as he gets to the building, he runs around and looks into each of the classrooms to see if there are any students around,” Edwards says. “Bea also likes coming to the building, but she prefers to take naps in the back office.

“When we first arrive, the dogs do a quick walk of the building’s outside perimeter so they can go to the bathroom. Then they’ll hang out in the office with me, the program coordinator, and our student employees until classes are over,” Edwards says. “Once classes are over, they usually run around the office playing with toys, or sit in people’s lap as they try to get work done. Students always react with oohs and aahs and the dogs go crazy for it. They roll on their backs, bellies up, so the students can have better access to scratch their stomachs.”

Photo: Rachel Edwards, a young Black woman wearing all black clothes and glasses, sits in an armchair and works on her laptop. To her right, a brown shih tzu dog rests in a similar chair. In front of both stands a small, black shih tzu dog. It looks up to the camera as a toy lies at it's feet. — Rachel Edwards (CAS’19), program administrator for the African American & Black Diaspora Studies program, with her two-year-old shih tzu Bea (in the chair), and one-year-old shih tzu Tobi, in her office on Mountfort Street.

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There are 8 comments on A Round of A-Paws for Pets on Campus

Ray Joyce

August 28, 2023 at 7:28 am

Thank you Cydney and all! What a great way to kick off the week.


Jeff Behn

August 28, 2023 at 8:41 am

Needs more cats.


1. Colleen
  
  August 28, 2023 at 12:58 pm
  
  G’raha agrees! :)
  
  
valeda britton

August 28, 2023 at 9:44 am

Cydney

Loved seeing the animals. Made me smile. My dog’s favorite activities are watching novelas in the evening while sitting on me. He frequently makes loud dog sounds when people are talking. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see more pictures soon.


Ryan Roth Gallo

August 28, 2023 at 11:19 am

What a wonderful piece of photo-journalism. I loved seeing the bonds between these humans and their dear pets. Thank you for this dose of happiness in my day.


Nicole Raukohl

August 29, 2023 at 11:18 am

Loving the matching work fits on Brian and Penny!! This is fantastic!


Lisa

August 30, 2023 at 12:09 pm

Loved this! Wish this was a monthly feature!


Viviana

September 2, 2023 at 3:31 pm

I love that pets are allowed into BU offices. I deeply believe they are good influence for owners, pets and public in general.
On the other hand, I am sad, because my only family in this country is my little four legged one, and she has to stay alone at home for 9 to 10 hours a day while I work at the BU children’s center.
It is unfair that some employees can use their pets for support and others just have to handle countless hours without them.
But, I really appreciate the article, the pictures and the fact of recognizing these wonderful creatures as much more than only pets.

A Round of A-Paws for Pets on Campus

Photo essay captures the dogs—and occasional cat—who accompany their owners to work

Kori MacDonald with Nova and Stella

Michelle Njoroge (CAS’20) and Nova

Chris Kolovos and Circe

Zoe Marsiglia (CAS’24) and Louie

Erin Murdock (Wheelock’18, Questrom’23) and Henry

Chelsea Houlihan (Wheelock’22) and Astro

Lucy van Beever (MET’17) and Kane

Chris DeVits (Wheelock’10) and Bella

Emily Ryan and Whiskey Gus

Brian Baldeck and Penny

Colleen Gilman Kenney and G’raha

Maria Olivares and Oreo

Rachel Edwards (CAS’19) with Bea (sitting in chair) and Tobi

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