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Featuring pets in the workplace

By Sharlene Baldo

Jul 15, 2025

Ollie the five-month-old cavoodle. Photos: Rechelle Zammit Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Part two of Pets in the Workplace is here, and Ollie and Pudd are ready to take the spotlight.

Sabac on High

Pudd the 11-year-old cat. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

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It’s not every day you spot a cat tucked between a store’s shelves while you’re browsing, but at Sabac on High, you should expect the unexpected.

Few customers ever walk into the Shepparton store without meeting 11-year-old Pudd.

Pudd was only a year old when Tracy Heyward found him wandering near the shop’s back door.

After showing plenty of patience and love, and providing a lot of food, Ms Heyward finally managed to coax him in.

And Pudd hasn’t left the shop since.

“When he came, I felt very sorry for him because he was so hungry and so skinny and so scrawny and so wild that I fed him and he just stayed,” she said.

While Ms Heyward heads home at the end of each shift, Pudd stays as the shop’s permanent feline resident.

Pudd peeks through a basket handle. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Overall, Ms Heyward is all-in for pets in the workplace.

“He’s someone for me to talk to this time of year when I’m on my own,” she said.

“(And) he brings people in, the kids love him.”

When it comes to customers who are only there to shop, Pudd knows to keep his distance.

“If they say they’re allergic, they usually just leave him. And he’s getting old now, so he just lolls around,” Ms Heyward said.

Pudd nestled among the Charlie Bears and Cuddle Cubs. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Pudd loves his chicken and Salada biscuits.

And when he isn’t standing guard or people-watching by the window displays, he can be found sleeping among the Charlie Bears.

Focus Cards and Gifts

Ollie the five-month-old cavoodle. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Five-year-old Ollie the cavoodle has been charming customers as Focus Cards and Gifts’ unofficial receptionist since puppyhood, and this lovable rascal wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shelley Culhane got Ollie when he was 18 months old, shortly after she lost her previous dog.

She didn’t want to leave him home alone, so she brought him to work with her every day.

“He’s a little shop dog — he is in and out every day, waiting to go to work,” Ms Culhane said.

When his owner has her hands full, Ollie is more than happy to entertain.

He’s gotten to know his customers so well, he can now recognise a few of the regulars just by their voices.

One of them even takes him out on afternoon adventures from time to time.

He always dresses up for work and never wears the same clothes twice.

In other words, Ollie is a pup with style.

Shelley Culhane cuddles Ollie, her cavoodle. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

“He’s a source of entertainment for sure, but he’s also a bit of a stress reliever for me,” Ms Culhane said.

“I get out and go for a walk (with him) instead of skipping my lunch.”

Thanks to how hypoallergenic cavoodles can be, customers rarely have to worry about their allergies around Ollie, especially given he stays behind the front counter of the Shepparton store.

“He brings a lot of joy to the workplace, and those that don’t like him, they don’t interact,” Ms Culhane said.

“They do their business and they’re out of here.”