We’re very fortunate here at Tap Warehouse that we get to share the office with some wonderful canine companions and if you’ve ever called us, you might even have heard one of them in the background (probably Maya)! Now’s your chance to get to know them.
Maya - Samoyed
Maya is the original Tap Warehouse office dog and come rain or shine, she’s always here. A big, white, soppy ball of fur, Maya craves attention from anyone who will give it to her, and with looks that could melt the blackest of hearts, she doesn’t have to go far for it. Many questions have been asked in the homes of Tap Warehouse employees by partners curious as to why their other half comes home covered in white fur; it’s fair to say that Maya moults… a lot. Most members of staff now refrain from wearing black trousers to work. She’s at her happiest when she has a friend to play with, although her eagerness to play isn’t always reciprocated. This can (and often does) lead to the Maya bark - a sound familiar to all who work here, as well as many telephone customers, I’m sure. Many an hour of work has been lost playing tug of war or giving belly rubs, but I’m sure the boss will agree that this improves moral and therefore work rate, so if anything, more playing is to be encouraged - and I’m sure Maya wouldn’t argue with that.
Darwin - Goldendoodle
Darwin is the old man of the Tap Warehouse office. Despite being only 2 years old, there’s nothing he likes more than curling up in the corner and having a snooze, much to Maya’s disappointment. If he could don a pipe and slippers, I’m sure he would. Darwin and Maya have been play buddies for a while, and whilst she’s quite taken by him, I’m not sure the feeling’s entirely mutual. Devastatingly for us all, it means we’ll never get Samoyed-Goldendoodle puppies. After developing a penchant for bananas, Darwin was put on a diet and a strict “no bananas for Darwin” rule was imposed in the office. Whilst it’s stopped him eating them, you’ve never seen a dog move as fast as Darwin when he smells a freshly opened banana. Darwin is very protective of us all and the Darwin growl is a sound we have grown accustomed to. At the other end of the scale, however, we also have the Darwin squeak; a seal-like sound (not Kiss From a Rose unfortunately) most often heard when he’s excited - probably when he sniffs a banana.
Misty - Husky
Misty is a relative newcomer, but in the few times that she’s visited, she’s made an impression as big as her hypnotising blue eyes. Food plays a big part in Misty’s life, and even the slightest rustle of a crisp packet is enough to have a head suddenly appearing under your desk. Misty is very talkative and she’s never short of a word or two, though like Darwin, she’s very happy with simply lying down and relaxing rather than playing. When the mood takes her though, Misty is not shy about strutting around the office, and when she does, she’ll invariably have Maya in tow. Like Maya, she moults at a quite incredible rate - so much so that we’ve often thought about going into the textiles business! Fur Warehouse anyone?
Mason - German Shepherd-Boxer Cross
Like Misty, Mason has only visited us a few times, but he’s proved a big hit. He’s the biggest of the Tap Warehouse office dogs, but as is often the case, the most docile. He’s built up quite the rapport with Maya and their play sessions make the whole office stop. Watching it, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were watching two Mexican wrestlers rather than new best friends. Despite his size, Mason obviously thinks he’s much smaller than he actually is as he’s always trying to climb on people’s laps, not that anyone complains. When Mason is not in the office, Maya can quite often be found waiting by ‘his’ desk in anticipation of his arrival, and anyone who thinks that dogs don’t have feelings has never seen Maya’s face when Mason’s owner turns up without him.
Harry - Yorkshire Terrier
No dog made a mark on us quite as quickly as Harry did – quite literally in fact. Within the first few minutes of him being here, he’d made a mark right on the boss’ floor! Nicknamed Barnaby (by some) his diminutive size doesn’t get in the way of him playing (or at least attempting to play) with the big dogs. Disappointingly for us all, he has little to no interest in human interaction, instead preferring the company of the other dogs (and who can blame him?) Thanks to Harry/Barnaby’s size (or lack of it) one has to check behind their chair before moving back just to make sure that he doesn’t accidentally get squashed when you get up. For such a small dog he can make an impressive amount of noise, and though he’s quiet most of the time, a playful and curious Maya can sometimes be a bit too much for one little dog to handle.
Tia
A rescue dog who has previously been cruelly mistreated, we’re not quite sure what breed Tia is, but she’s a gorgeous dog who wouldn’t say “boo” to a goose. She’s understandably very shy around both humans and other dogs, but gain her trust and she’s as soppy and as keen for cuddles as any of the other Tap Warehouse office dogs. When she’s not curled up under the desk having a snooze, Tia can normally be found rebuffing Maya’s attempts to play with her. As is almost a Tap Warehouse office dog tradition, Tia will make a beeline for anyone with food, though thankfully the staff are well enough trained by now not to feed the dogs human food.
Bertie - Border Terrier
Bertie - or Barnaby II, Graham, Dave, Brian and Albatross as he’s also known - like Harry before him, also made his mark on the boss’ floor as soon as he came in. It must be a Terrier thing! He too is not the fondest of humans, to the point where he’ll growl if he gets picked up. Unsurprisingly, we hear that growl a lot because, as you can imagine from looking at him, it’s very hard to resist picking him up. Bertie is quite happy to trot around the office, although there have been one or two times where he’s got himself lost and he’s had to tag along with Maya to find his way back to the right office! Bertie’s favourite game is fetch and for such a small dog he’s got a lot of stamina. We tire of throwing the ball long before he’s finished chasing it. Rumour has it that Bertie loves nothing more than dressing up in a variety of amusing costumes, though tragically he's never visited the Tap Warehouse office whilst wearing one. It does mean, however, that we're always requesting that he makes another appearance here, not that we need another excuse to want to see him.
Gatsby - Dachshund
Undoubtedly the Tap Warehouse office dog with the coolest name, Gatsby likes nothing more than to strut around the office. He’s a cool character who is in demand, and doesn’t he know it; he’ll give you 10 seconds of his time, but then he’s straight on to the next person. Most of the Tap Warehouse office dogs prevent us doing work because all they want to do is play, or (more likely) because all we want to do is stroke them. Gatsby is different; he prevents us from working because he can quite often be found walking along the desks, blocking your screen and treading on your keyboard as he goes. His size doesn’t stop him playing with Maya though, and if anything, she tires of playing before he does which is almost unheard of!
Kizzy - Dachshund
Kizzy is the matriarch of the Tap Warehouse office dogs. She’s the oldest dog we have here and she’s seen it all and done it all before. She doesn’t take any nonsense, whether it be from Maya, Gatsby, or a Tap Warehouse employee. Like Gatsby, she’s quite happy to spend her time walking along the desks, stopping us from working, although unlike Gatsby, she’s much more receptive of human attention. Despite her age, Kizzy is still active and is quite happy to run around the office, harassing anyone that might have some food for her. At the end of the day though, she can quite often be found curled up on the floor having a well earned snooze.
Miska - Siberian Husky
Anyone who has children and has seen the film “Penguins of Madagascar” could be forgiven for thinking that the appearance of the character ‘Classified’ (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) was based on Miska. Miska is a pure-bred Siberian Husky with a jaw-line that would rival David Coulthard’s for squareness. His head and neck are exactly the same width as his body, and his piercing blue eyes and judgy stares could be enough to scare off some people. But like all the bigger Tap Warehouse office dogs, Miska is a softy at heart and all he wants are cuddles, belly rubs and the occasional treat. Like all new Tap Warehouse office dogs, Miska had to go through Maya’s special induction, which mainly involves a lot of sniffing, licking and a not so subtle invitation to play. Some dogs, like Darwin and Bertie were not so keen. Others like Mason and Misty have passed with flying colours, and Miska has joined an illustrious pack of dogs that Maya hasn’t scared off!
