Team Spotlight: Pets of North Street

At North Street, we recognize that pets are an important part of our team’s families. With many of us working remotely, they can sometimes feel like our closest coworkers – especially when they are literally underfoot. In honor of National Dog Month (August) and International Cat Day (August 8), we are highlighting a few of the furry friends who keep us company throughout the work day.

Olive

Human Companion: Ivan Orellana, People & Culture

Tell us the story of how you got your pet. My wife and I would always talk about getting a dog. During the winter of 2014, we were walking by Union Square in NYC and happened to see an animal rescue truck parked in front of a Petco. We went inside and saw several adorable puppies, including Olive’s litter (about 7-8 other dogs). My wife popped her head into the kennel, and Olive was the first one to walk toward her. So in a way, she picked us!

How long have you had your pet? We’ve had Olive for 7 ½ years. We adopted her when she was 10 weeks old back in December 2014 – a couple of months after we got married. The rest is history.

What nicknames do you call your pet? “Leave it” –mainly when our 5-year-old daughter is eating and dropping crumbs on the floor.

Give us a fun fact about your pet. Olive’s breed is called Catahoula. They are the official Louisiana state dog. Who knew states had official dogs? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? Scratch my office door when it’s time for her daily belly rub.

Clover

Human Companion: Tom Conlon, Founder + CEO

How long have you had your pet? We adopted Chloe and Clover, both Maine Coons, about 3 years ago. 

How would you describe your pet’s personality in one sentence? He’s a jerk. I live in a house full of females, including our other cat (Clover’s sister, Chloe), and so the two of us are constantly vying for “man of the house” status. He isn’t friendly to begin with, but I can’t even pet him without him trying to bite me. I’ve had to get prescribed antibiotics twice because of a couple of bad bites that made my arms swell up.

What’s your pet’s weirdest quirk? His bad attitude.

What’s your favorite thing about your pet? He’s pretty chill when he’s asleep, which is a lot.

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? The biting.

What nicknames do you call your pet? Clovid-19.

Porkchop

Human Companion: Sean Tice, Design

How long have you had your pet? My wife and I adopted Porkchop when he was about 12 weeks old in April 2019.

How did your pet get his/her name? A lot of people think we like pork chops (we do), but we also like Porkchop the dog from the 90’s TV series Doug.

What’s your pet’s weirdest quirk? While normal dogs like to get pets behind their ears, on their back, or on their belly, Porkchop prefers to get his butt scratched. Whenever he sees you standing, he’ll work his way between your legs for easy access to butt scratching.

Give us a fun fact about your pet. Porkchop looks like a lab but is actually a mix of a boxer, pit bull…and chihuahua.

If your pet worked at North Street, what department would they be in? Definitely not the mailroom. He has it out for anyone that works for the USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL.

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? Every day at about 5 pm, he strolls into my office, makes his way under my desk, and boops my knee with his nose.

Jasper

Human Companion: Matt Potter, Design

Tell us the story of how you got your pet. Jasper is a foster cat from one of the local shelters here in Providence. We’d been looking to get a cat for a while, but the problem is my wife is allergic to some cats. So we thought fostering would be a good way to test things out. We plan on officially adopting him this week.

What nicknames do you call your pet? My wife likes to call him a “ham.” I’m not entirely sure what it means, but she mostly does it when Jasper is being lazy and loving life.

What’s your pet’s weirdest quirk? He likes his belly rubbed. Most cats hate it if you go anywhere near their belly.

What’s your favorite thing about your pet? My favorite thing about Jasper is how much of a transformation he’s gone through since we first got him. Apparently, all he did when he was at the shelter was hide out in a cardboard box. When we first picked him up, he was terrified and hid under the bed for close to a week. With the help of some kitty treats, my wife was able to eventually coax him out. Now that he’s fully adjusted, he loves to snuggle with us and acts like he owns the whole house.

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? Jasper loves to walk across my desk and step on random keys on the keyboard. Fortunately, he has yet to delete anything important. 

Radar

Human Companion: Greg O’Kane, Production

How long have you had your pet? My wife and I adopted Radar in January 2015, about a month before our wedding. He was estimated to be two years old at the time.

What nicknames do you call your pet? Ray, Ray-dog, Ray-Ray, Foxtail, and Doug.

How would you describe your pet’s personality in one sentence? Cat software running on dog hardware.

Give us a fun fact about your pet. Radar’s paperwork from the shelter in Alabama said he was a Dachshund. That didn’t seem right to us, so I tried showing him different dog breeds on Google Images to see if he’d react at all (he didn’t). Soon afterward, a targeted ad led me to buy a discounted cheek-swab doggie DNA test. I’m not sure how accurate those really are, but the kit said he’s 50% American Bulldog, 25% Pomeranian, and 25% Alaskan Malamute. We had about three good months enjoying our “dog that never shed” until Spring rolled around and his Malamute undercoat started showing up all over our apartment. 

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? For a medium-sized dog, Radar has a “big dog” bark, and he sometimes uses it to protect me from the mail carrier and other kind delivery folks who stop by our home. 

Percy

Human Companion: Andrew Skola, Communications

Tell us the story of how you got your pet. We’ve had loving Maine Coon cat buddies before and very much miss that fun personality in the house. I had been searching for a new cat buddy at various shelters and Maine Coon rescue organizations. I found Percy’s photo and profile on the Fort Worth Animal Shelter website. He’s not a Maine Coon, but he’s a handsome fella just the same. I filled out the form but didn’t hear back. I called, but no one answered. So I picked up and drove over after work (it’s about 90 minutes away in rush hour) and got there just in time before they closed. The place was a mad house of barking dogs that left most of the cats timid and hiding in their cages. But when they took Percy out and handed him to me, he immediately crawled up my arms and onto my neck and started purring. I was sold. My wife was out of town visiting a friend, so I took Percy home, got him set up, and when she walked through the door from the airport a few days later, I dropped him into her arms. Who could say no to a purring kitten? 

What nicknames do you call your pet?  Squeaker is a 2nd name because of his propensity for little high-pitched meows when he wants something (mostly wet food). 

What’s your pet’s weirdest quirk? We had an old armchair that was headed for the donate wagon. Percy took to it and props himself up like an old man leaning back and taking a nap, legs spread out, arms behind his head, tummy fur open to the wind. He’s the king on his throne, so the chair hasn’t gone anywhere.

What’s your favorite thing about your pet? Every morning I make the bed. No matter where Percy is in the house, no matter how quiet I am, he comes bounding in, jumping up on the bed as I fluff the pillows and straighten the sheets and covers. It’s a mad game of distracting him with toys as I try to pull everything tight, and he leaps around. 

If your pet worked at North Street, what department would they be in? He’s definitely in sales. He has an outgoing, friendly personality (especially for a cat!) and can rub your leg while meowing sweetly when he wants dinner or attention. He’s also super competitive and will chase our toy wand to no end. 

What is your pet’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? Percy loves attacking loose string of any kind — shoelaces, cords, yarn, and the white cord of my apple headphones. He’ll invariably jump on my lap and grab for them with his razor claws as I get on Zoom calls, so I have to keep watch and keep them from dangling off the desk. I’ve replaced two pairs in the past few months! 

Watson

Human Companion: Alex Schwall, Communications

How long have you had your pet? I adopted Watson 7 years ago; he was a rescue, so we think he is about 8 years old, but he has basically been an old man his entire life. 

What nicknames do you call your pet? Too many to name. Mostly “Squish” and “Watty” – or The Squish and Watty McWatterson, when we are being formal. 

What’s your dog’s weirdest quirk? He is terrified of plastic bags. 

If your pet worked at North Street, what department would they be in? Definitely something in HR or company culture. He is happiest around people, though at parties, you can usually find him chilling under the snack table. 

What is your dog’s favorite way to try and interrupt your work day? He likes to sleep on our around the foot of my chair, so if I move at all, he can jump up and try to guilt me into a walk or a treat.