Welcoming Bessie, our first cow member

When we put “pet-friendly” on the sign, we meant it. We just didn’t know how thoroughly the universe would test that promise.

Last September, Bessie arrived with her human, Marta, a freelance landscape architect who had grown tired of leaving her best collaborator at the farm gate. “She’s quiet, she doesn’t take calls in the open-plan area, and she has never once microwaved fish,” Marta argued. We could not fault the logic.

What we learned in week one

A 600-kilogram member has needs that a spaniel does not. We widened the east entrance, swapped a row of hot desks for a rubber-matted standing area (Bessie is firmly anti-chair), and discovered that our “grass wall” decor was about to become a budget line item.

But here’s the thing nobody warned us about: productivity went up. People take their calls walking laps of the paddock now. Stand-ups happen standing, next to someone who has been standing all along. A surprising number of difficult client emails have been drafted with one hand resting on a warm, judgment-free flank.

House rules, revised

Bessie’s membership prompted the first serious revision of our pet policy, which you can read in full on the Pet Policy page. The short version: if your companion is calm, house-trained (interpret generously), and registered at the front desk, they are welcome — whatever their weight class.

Come meet Bessie on your next tour. She’s usually by the window in the Pasture Annex, supervising.