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 A new Kennel Club initiative for all employees

The Kennel Club, an Investor in People, has become the first organisation in the world to offer employees leave to care for new puppies. The organisation will offer full nine months ‘mutternity’ leave to train and socialise pups, or ‘furbabies’ Mutternity leave will come into effect from 1st April 2014

The Kennel Club, the UK’s largest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs, has announced that as of 1st April 2014 all employees will be offered a full nine months of ‘mutternity’ leave on acquiring a new puppy.

The Kennel Club is the first organisation in the world to implement a leave policy solely based on the needs of dog owning staff and their requirements when raising a puppy.

The period of mutternity leave, to which employees of both sexes are entitled, will commence the day the puppy is taken home by its new owner so that they can immediately begin the task of building a bond with their new four legged friend.  The Kennel Club will simply need to see a signed declaration from the breeder or rescue centre that the puppy came from, confirming that the new owner now has guardianship over the canine.

The Kennel Club recently launched a brand new Puppy Socialisation Plan, which is a step-by-step online guide for breeders or rescue homes and then new puppy owners to follow when socialising their puppies, and mutternity leave will give owners lots of time not only to follow the recommended steps but also to go out and about with their new family member.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: 'Over the years Kennel Club research has found that more and more people are choosing dogs over kids, as dogs can often fit more easily into people’s lifestyles than children would.  This is particularly true of Kennel Club employees, which is why we are so pleased to announce our new mutternity leave policy, which will allow staff extra time to spend with their ‘furbabies.''

'Owning a dog is a huge responsibility and it takes lots of time and commitment to properly train and socialise a puppy, so we want to be able to give our employees the time to do this all day, every day, at home.  If it can be done for human babies, why not for four legged ones?

'We hope that by offering mutternity leave, we will encourage other organisations and businesses to follow suit.  Spending time with dogs has been proven to boost happy hormones and keep people calm, so a whole nine months is likely to do wonders for workplace productivity when the puppy parents return to work.'

For more information on the Kennel Club's mutternity leave policy, a list of Q&As is available at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/mutternityleave.

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