As the era of Six Apart comes to a close, and I look back on my almost five years here, there is a group that I feel deserves just as much recognition as the rest of us... plus some treats and belly rubs. I'm talking, of course, about the Six Apart Dogs.
Dogs have been a huge part of the culture around here for as long as I've been on board. Like them or not, they've always been present. Most were well-behaved, but some would get their wild on from time to time, and that was ok. Sometimes we'd encourage them to run loose in the office, chasing each other and having fun, but most of the time we'd just keep them on hand in case someone needed some fuzzy love at some point during their day.
The office is covered in pee and hair, and there are chewed up toys stashed in many of the darkest corners, but I think most people who have worked here would agree that one of the best parts has been the dogs. I love every one of them, even if there were a few that Rudy wasn't down with. I look forward to the dog family at the new office.
In the meantime, here are most of the dogs I remember working with:
Pictured: Mocha, with Rudy and Maddy. Mocha was the first office dog I met at Six Apart. She belonged to our CEO, Barak. I remember sitting at my desk on my first day and seeing the conference room door slide open a little bit, and this sweet brown dog poke her head out and look around. I beckoned to her, and she came and got a few pets before dutifully returning to her meeting. My subsequent first blog post was about how awesome it was that our office was dog-friendly.
Pictured: Shelby (photo: Winnie Wong). Shelby was a rad but kind of crazy pug. We didn't work together for very long, but she was adorable, and had the best halloween costumes.
Pictured: Maddy. Maddy belongs to Ben and Mena Trott, the founders of Six Apart. She's been around almost as long as I have and she is Rudy's girlfriend. For years, she has been Rudy's favorite buddy to frolic and hang out with, and together they've been able to overwhelm the office with cuteness. Maddy is adorable and sweet, although she went through a phase where she'd turn over on her back to get you to rub her belly, and as soon as you would do it, she'd pee on you. Man that was good times.
Pictured: A blurry Major, with Brad Fitzpatrick (photo: Jamison). I didn't get to hang with Major much. I remember him being really fast. Good boy, Major.
Pictured: Stella (right) with Rudy. God I fucking love Stella. She's the coolest, most chill dog I've ever met. She's like one of the dudes. Rudy loves her, despite the fact that all of their wrestling usually ends in her attempting to eat his head. Stella is a good girl.
Pictured: Ophelia (dog) with Tiff (human). Photo: Tiff. Ophelia is Stella's sister. When they are together, the big dog/small dog adorableness dynamic is almost too much for any human to bear. I have seen the impure turn to stone and crumble in this dog's presence.
Pictured: Larissa, Randy, and Pista. Pista was one crazy bitch. She was Rudy's cubemate for a while, but they did not get along for whatever reason, so Randy and I had to alternate days that we could bring our dogs to work. Still, Pista was a very sweet girl and we all loved her. I think. Let's just say we did.
BLISS! Bliss was the fluffiest of the Six Apart dogs. She was unbelievably sweet and friendly and she liked cookies. A lot. Just look how fucking fluffy this animal was! There were many times where I was able to turn a shitty day around by just sticking my face in to her fluff and snuggling it all away. Good girl, Bliss!
OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT THING? Her name is Precious, and she doesn't like anyone or anything. I am terrified of this animal. Do not feed after midnight, do not get wet.
Pictured: Sushi, with Rudy. Sushi is Sergeja's dog and she's hilarious. She's also Rudy's favorite Chase Game opponent. So much chasing.
Pictured: Poppy, and her matching couch. Poppy was Doug's dog, and she was pretty snuggly. I don't know if Rudy and her ever met.
Pictured: Jax. A lot of people don't remember Jax, but I do, because he was a sweetie. I honestly cannot remember whose dog he was, but I liked him.
I don't remember this dog's real name, but we all called him Cheddar. He was a loaner dog to Sarah and his tail was always wagging. He was really soft too.
This is Finn, Doug's other dog. He is patiently waiting for Doug to fix the servers so they can go home. Finn is ridiculously furry and loves belly rubs.
Pictured: TK, with Rudy. Short for TK421, which you can Google to see what it means and realize this dog has one of the coolest names ever. I love the shit out of TK. She is my home girl, and her mom is HOT. TK is one of Rudy's Special Lady Friends and they have some good frolics together.
Pictured: Rudy and Walter. Oh man, Walter is awesome! He's a ball of energy and he loves everything. Go check out his blog to see what he's worried about today. Bonus fun fact: Walter is named after Walter Sobchak, and if it's Saturday, then he sure as shit doesn't roll!
Pictured: Basil. Basil is the newest of the office dogs and one of the most fun. She and Rudy are still having a little bit of a hard time getting along, but there's clearly some attraction there. Basil is part Dachsund, and part bat.
Last but not least, Rudy. Here he is, kickin' it in his dog bed behind my desk, exhausted from running around with all of these other dogs. He's had a great four and a half years at this place, and his tail is wagging in anticipation of the new friends he'll meet at the new office.
My sincerest apologies to anyone whose dogs I've forgotten in this post. It took me a long time to put together this list, but it's entirely possible that there are a few I don't remember. Please pat their heads for me.
Special thanks to Six Apart for being an amazing place to work, where we could bring our best friends in so they didn't have to be lonely all day, waiting for us to come home. Thanks for not getting mad about all the peeing and barking, and for even giving them their own category in the Halloween contest that one year. Thanks to all my coworkers who have watched Rudy whenever I've been out of town, or who have snuck him treats. Thanks to the various people who've been responsible for making bacon happen in the break room every Friday, most of which was eaten by my dog. Thanks to all the dogs for endlessly amusing me. Thanks to Rudy for being my favorite one, and for being by my side all these years.
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