Dog Finds Part-Time Work as Lion

The global recession has hit the dog community particularly hard, with unemployment currently hovering over 83%. With prospects for full-time work bleak, many puppies are turning to low-paying, part-time jobs to make ends meet.

“Most canine job growth we’re seeing is in the public sector,” said Harvard economist, Peter Kress. “Guide dogs, bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs, search and rescue dogs, etc. About the only growth area in the private sector is among therapy dogs, and even many of those are state subsidized in some way. On the whole, we’re not adding enough employment each quarter to keep up with the number of dogs looking for work.”

Employment for dogs at private companies in traditional areas like sled pulling, house guarding and cattle herding are at a 50 year low, according to Kress.

In Durham, North Carolina, one local dog has taken part-time work as a lion to make ends meet. The pup is being employed by a local acting troupe to perform at kids’ birthday parties.

“It’s not terrible work,” said Andy Gamber, a close friend of the dog. “But we’re really hoping things get better soon. He used to have a full-time job chasing mailmen, which he loved, but then the USPS laid him off.”

Via Heather Durdil.

PHOTO OP: At the Ewok Day Spa

Fact: If you want a dog that looks like an Ewok, the Brussels Griffon is the breed for you.

Via sunita_b.