8 Work From Home Experiences We Didn't Expect Last Year

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Your Dog Wants to Be the Star of the Show

Image: Liz Beavers, SolarWinds

Anyone with a dog and anyone who's ever had a phone call or a videoconference with a dog owner knows that barks happen. Maybe another dog walked by the house or someone showed up at the door. People tend to accept the interruptions so long as they don't interfere with the videoconference for too long. But what should you do with Fido if you're recording a virtual event presentation?

Liz Beavers, head geek at IT management company SolarWinds, "opted to go against [her] better judgment" when she decided not to put her Boxer-Labrador, Blaze, in daycare. Like any loving dog parent, she figured he'd be well-behaved because she just needed to record a 30-minute presentation. Blaze behaved exactly as expected, at least for the first 20 minutes. Then, he may have wondered why Liz was the only family member worthy of celebrity status. Blaze jumped onto the dining room table, then hea­dbutted his way onto her lap so he could be on camera too. Hello everyone, I'm Blaze.

Shortly after making his video debut, the doorbell rang. It was the UPS guy delivering a package. Sweet Blaze morphed into Stephen King's Cujo and bolted to the door in defense mode, proving to the audience that he wasn't just another pretty face.

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