Meet Sasha
Breed: Samoyed
Barking from: Hamilton
What's up dog?
Sasha is a 2-year-old Samoyed. She has been an office dog for over a year and comes to work three days a week. This application was constructed with comments from the team.
Sasha's duties as office dog include:
• Excitedly welcoming everyone as they arrive, with tail wags in full force. She is like our own personal cheerleader for arriving on time.
• Joining meetings to ensure they stay on track and the odd distraction with some goofy antics in front of the webcam to keep it interesting.
• Helping shred the paper in the paper recycling bin - she is very efficient at this.
• Proactively seeking out important memos in the CEO’s satchel and uploading them into her cloud-like structure for safe storage. Document retrieval from the cloud is a work-in-progress.
• Ensuring the office stays tidy by picking up rubbish.
• Making sure the team gets their work done by napping for extended periods of time.
As an unofficial therapy dog and morale champion, Sasha brings a gentle, calming presence to the office. She will often be found sleeping under someone's desk. Sasha supports the team's mental health by making sure they take a moment out of their day for cuddles, pats, and sometimes a walk outside. She will even tell you when she thinks you need to give her more pats with a gentle paw at your hand. Unlike a conventional therapist, she will join you on the couch to destress. Sasha makes the workplace inviting; her workmates will often bring their family members in to meet her. She has also been helping a staff member in another office get over their fear of dogs, with controlled visits on lead, progressing to a few pats.
Sasha is a very funny, happy dog and knows how to make people smile. For example, when you turn around you might find her lying on her back looking up at you with a huge smile on her face (known as the sammy smile). She's always up for a chat and will reply in awoos.
Sasha loves showing off tricks she learns at obedience training which earns lots of praise from her workmates. Her most recent trick is sitting on top of a bucket, then moving to two subsequent buckets, then turning around on the third bucket and doing it again. Some other commands that are very useful in the office environment include:
• Stay - so she knows she's not coming to the next meeting.
• Down - useful for when visitors, including children, arrive who aren’t too sure about dogs.
• Recall - in case she decides to follow someone out of the office.
2025 NZ People's Choice Award
We believe no dog should be left behind.
Every dog entered into the competition is automatically in the running for the 2025 People’s Choice Award — and the winner will be decided by you, the public.
This year, we’re giving the aroha back to our communities.
Each year, our campaign is supported by a number of incredible charities across Aotearoa that work tirelessly to improve the lives of dogs and people alike. In 2025, we’re shining a spotlight on these organisations and the vital mahi they do.
As part of the voting process, every voter will have the chance to donate to our amazing mental health or dog-focused charities.
It’s your vote, your voice, and your opportunity to make a difference.
