Puppy Love: Valentine’s Day has us wagging our tails.

Isn’t it strange that English has only one word–love–to describe so many different emotions? This Valentine’s Day, Signal Works decided to recognize one type of love in particular: that between animals and their humans. We asked office pet parents to tell us all about their favorite non-human.

Evan and Ronin

What do you love most about Ronin?

Evan: I love Ronin’s natural curiosity when outdoors.

What’s Ronin’s favorite thing?

Evan: Poop! Horse or goose. 

Tell us Ronin’s gotcha story!

Evan: A college rugby buddy of mine returned from playing overseas to news that his 160-pound husky and 25-pound Australian shepherd had puppies. He was desperately trying to offload them as he was living in a 400-square-foot studio with 10 dogs. I was hesitant until I saw a photo of Ronin. Then I opted to drive to DC the same day to take him home with me.

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what kind of coworker is Ronin?

Evan: He’s the boss!

How do you know Ronin loves you?

Evan: Once I’ve settled into bed at night, Ronin likes to lie on my face.

Kelsey, Bella and Bagheera

What do you love most about Bella and Bagheera?

Kelsey: Bella loves to sleep with us every night, and she is very smart. Bagheera is a real lovebug and loves lots of pets!

What do Bella and Bagheera like best?

Kelsey: Bella loves tuna puree and Bagheera loves toy mice.

Tell us your gotcha story!

Kelsey: We’ve had Bella for two years. She was surrendered by her owner and we found her at PARL. We just got Bagheera last month! He’s an ex-street cat we got from Pawswatch Community Cat Center.

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what are your cats like as co-workers?

Kelsey: Bella is a sweet agent of chaos. She sits on my keyboard, sits on my lap and knocks liquids onto electronics. Bagheera minds his business and sleeps nearby until it’s time for dinner or pets.

How do you know Bella and Bagheera love you?

Kelsey: Bella loves to be around us to see what we’re doing and be part of it, whether it’s dinner, bedtime or a movie. She also licks us and purrs VERY loudly. Bagheera is a little anxious because of his background, but he’s warmed up to living in a house around people and is now an attention hog! If I stop petting him, he’ll headbutt me or try to climb my leg.

Katie and Lt. Dan

What do you love most about Lt. Dan?

Katie: He loves his family. He’ll greet us at the door and follow us around the house till we sit and pet him.

What is Lt. Dan’s favorite thing to do?

Katie: In the mornings, he will go around to each person in the house to wake us up. He’s our little purr-fect alarm clock.

Tell us a funny story about Lt. Dan!

Katie: Lt. Dan has a stuffed animal that he carries around the house in his mouth. It’s his little friend, and we call it “baby.” One day we found baby with his head placed in Lt. Dan’s water bowl. And there was Lt. Dan watching to see if baby would drink. “Poor thing must be thirsty,” he thought. What a good friend!

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what is Lt. Dan like as a co-worker?

Katie: He likes to make appearances on Zoom calls!

How do you know Lt. Dan loves you?

Katie: He shows his love with lots of headbutts and snuggles. He makes biscuits, too!

Bryan, Harold and Lucy

What do you love most about Harold and Lucy?

Bryan: My ability to keep them alive.

What do Harold and Lucy like best?

Bryan: Being kept alive.

Do you have any surprising stories about Harold and Lucy?

Bryan: They’re alive, which surprises me every day.

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what are Harold and Lucy like as co-workers?

Bryan: Stoic. Ever-judging. Always watching and waiting.

How do you know Harold and Lucy love you?

Bryan: Because they try to die until I give them attention.

Laureen and Lily

What do you love most about Lily?

Laureen: Her personality! Someone forgot to tell Lily that she is not a queen in this lifetime. She has expectations of being served what she wants when she wants it. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I work in the office, she has to wait for me to come through the door, and patience is not her thing. She talks to me and shows me what she wants, which usually is for me to add food to her barely eaten dish. Sometimes I take the food out and put the same food back in just to satisfy her.

What is Lily’s favorite thing to do?

Laureen: At 14, it’s mostly sleeping somewhere warm. In her day, she was an amazing mouse catcher. One morning, my youngest kid found our bathtub resembling the Roman Colosseum. A couple of years ago, she caught a hummingbird, so I had to move the feeder. When it’s sunny outside, she will lie right under the bird feeder as if it was put there for her entertainment.

Tell us something unusual about Lily.

Laureen: Lily is a Tortoiseshell Manx cat, and I’m often asked what happened to her tail. I say, “I did not cut it off. She was born that way.” Lily was the runt of her litter. She has a small head compared to the rest of her body and has a large, bunny-shaped behind.

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what is Lily like as a co-worker?

Laureen: If she could talk, there would be a running commentary from Lily. “Are you off that computer yet? Isn’t it time to sit in the recliner and not move so I can sleep there? Ok, then how about let me stand at the door and take 10 minutes to decide if I should go outside, and you better be waiting for me to come in as you know I don’t like waiting! Is that dish full? Box cleaned?”

How do you know Lily loves you?

Laureen: I know she loves me when I’m sitting in the recliner with my feet up and a blanket for her to lie on. But she stops loving me when I want to get up to get a drink. In the morning, she sits at the top of the stairs and waits for me to carry her down. She also loves it when I put her on my shoulder and carry her around.

Sam and Annie

What do you love most about Annie?

Sam: I love her playfulness, her mischievousness and her sweetness.

What is Annie’s favorite thing to do?

Sam: She is a full-body snuggler. She gets herself into some pretty strange positions trying to make sure she’s touching me with as many parts of her body as possible.

Tell us your gotcha story!

Sam: We adopted Annie last November, so she’s still new to our family, but she has quickly become a fundamental part of our lives.

We’re a hybrid office. When you work from home, what is Annie like as a co-worker?

Sam: Annie is very attention-hungry, and she doesn’t like it when I am focusing on my computer instead of paying attention to her. So she’ll jump up on my desk to try to entice me into doing something else.