Pets Of The Channel: The Furry Friends Keeping Us Sane During Coronavirus

If you’re working from home, you may be lucky enough to be sheltering in place with a pet or pets. CRN looks at some of those furry friends keeping executives company during these chaotic times.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging around the world, anxiety increasing and a good portion of the world’s workforce teleworking, there’s never been a better time to own a pet especially for stress relief.

A study from Washington State University last year found that spending just 10 minutes with a cat or dog can have “significant” stress-relieving physiological benefits.

As a result, CRN decided to showcase a variety of channel executives and their pets. They include leaders from companies such as Comcast, D&H Distributing, SKOUT Cybersecurity, NVIDIA and more. Click through our slideshow to see more pets (and, of course, their owners)!

Neal Bradbury, Vice President, MSP Strategic Partnerships for Barracuda MSP

Lilly, his 10-year-old Cavapoo -- mix of Poodle and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

“Lilly loves working from home as she gets to sleep on the couch. She prefers the game chase vs. fetch and her nemesis is the squirrel that stares at her through the patio door. Her favorite treat is a Dingo, based on her excitement. We are pretty sure she would do calculus, but we settle for a sit.”

Andre Cuenin, Chief Revenue Officer, Cherwell Software

Pictured with Kona, the cat, and Koda, the dog.

“We have three pets, one of which (cat: Aspen) is too shy and increasingly shuns the paparazzi. The two pictured here are each other’s nemesis, but we occasionally catch them secretly being buddies and hanging together, albeit only while the rest of the house is asleep. Kona, the cat, is smarter than most humans; Koda, our dog, is unfortunately one step down on the house totem pole, below Kona of course, but is a very good boy. They are all an essential part of our family ecosystem bringing stress relief, laughter and grace to an otherwise busy household.”

Craig Schlagbaum, Senior Vice President and Channel Chief, Comcast

“This is Bunker. That is his name because his owner likes playing golf. When not sleeping, he enjoys eating chicken and fish, chasing bottle caps and is an aggressive user of his litter box.”

D&H Distributing Co-president Michael Schwab

8-year-old turtle, Charlie

She is only 8 years-old but has a life expectancy of more than 50 years—talk about a commitment!

What’s the best aspect of owning a turtle, according to Michael? “She doesn’t bark.”

D&H Distributing Co-president Dan Schwab

Golden retrievers, Cal, 4-years-old, and Lucky, 7-years-old.

Dan and family have had goldens for 25 years and like to name them for their favorite athletes. E.g., Cal is named for Cal Ripken, and a previous dog was named after Peyton Manning. Their next will be Magic or Rocky—currently a huge debate amongst Dan’s three teenage children. Cal and Lucky don’t like to be alone, so “wherever you are in the house, they follow and hang by your feet, hoping for a dropped snack or a belly rub.”

Mike Strohl, CEO of Entisys360

Mila is a 4-year-old miniature Australian Shepherd.

“She loves people and will jump on and celebrate with anyone who will let her. She knows the names of all of her toys and can fetch them based on their names. She also loves chasing birds and playing in the snow.”

Chris Braden, vice president of global channels and alliances at eSentire

Here’s “Domino, who loves to keep me company during my many calls and Zoom.”

Larissa Crandall, Senior Director of Channel at Gigamon with Brady

Simon Richards, Chief Customer Officer for IGEL

Nova, a 90-pound Timber dog

“She is called Nova because it means Chasing Butterflies, but she also chases mice, squirrels, deer, rabbits and cyclists. She is a great family dog but with a husky heritage means she is highly intelligent and actually untrainable. It took us three terms to get her puppy training award! As you can see in this photo, she finds working from home exhausting.”

Lori Cornmesser, vice president of worldwide partner and alliance sales at Infoblox

“Our family dog Marley (named after Bob Marley). He is a yellow lab.”

Tim Maloney, SVP of worldwide channels and Americas sales at Lifesize

“Works from home with Maine Coon cat (aka liger) Emma. Fun fact: Emma is apparently not a fan of photo shoots.”

Mike LaPeters, VP of Worldwide MSP and Channel Operations for Malwarebytes

Zoey, a Vizsla (left) and Marley, a black mouthed cur (right).

“They are both hunting dogs and have a keen drive to work, but, since they’re both scared of loud noises they just hunt for fun!’

Craig Weinstein, Vice President, America's Partner Organization, NVIDIA

“With his cute puppy, Finley, a 3yr. old Australian Labradoodle. He loves playing ball and going on long runs!”

Jennifer Bodell, VP of Channel, Pax8

Poppy, a 3-year old Tree Walker / Blue Tick Coonhound

“Poppy the snoopy, droopy, Princess (cue theme song) is the Queen in our house. She is the sweetest, goofiest, cuddliest, loving rescue pup you’ll ever meet (unless you’re a big furry fluffy animal then all bets are off). I often wonder who rescued who – I can’t imagine my life without this girl. To say she is spoiled and we are wrapped around her paws is the understatement of the century. This girl gets whatever she wants and it’s always deserved.”

Ryan Walsh, Chief Channel Officer, Pax8

Roscoe, a 4-year-old basset, beagle mix; Josie, a 2-year-old Corgi, Lab mix.

“Roscoe, with his royal markings, walks the neighborhood with little big man syndrome fiercely growling at the largest breeds that come close to his kingdom and loved ones. Meanwhile, Josie represents the opposite i.e. a lovey, full-body wag of a puppy that has never met an enemy. She gladly welcomes all those that Roscoe sneers at.”

Bernadette Richardson, Senior Vice President, Marketing, PlanetOne

Super, a 6-year-old Aussie Shepherd/Border Collie mix.

“Super loves mountain bike rides, snow days, stalking squirrels and has summited six of Colorado’s “14ers" (14,000+ft peaks). He’s a sneaky food stealer and has poached entire pizzas off the kitchen counter when backs are turned. His favorite toy is a stuffed octopus.”

Craig Malloy, CEO of Lifesize and Serenova

Malloy works from home with his dogs Franklin (left), Rebel (center) and Poppy (right).

Mike Hanauer, Chief Revenue Officer for SKOUT Cybersecurity

Queso, a 1 ½ year old English Golden Retriever

“When Queso isn’t on an endless loop following our kids up the ladder and down the slide, he enjoys digging holes in the yard, getting muddy, forcing delivery people to leave packages halfway down the driveway, and barking at wildlife, but we love him anyway.”

Tim Brown, Vice President of Security, SolarWinds

Bo Peep is one of 5 baby donkeys born on Tim's farm this spring. She likes to kick, play, cuddle, and be pet. She loves to stay close to her Mama.

Jennifer McCready, Global Channel Chief for Steelcase

Hazel, her 6-month-old English Bulldog

“Hazel likes running full speed through the grass, eating dog gelato and bird watching as she hasn’t quite figured out how the lift off the ground so fast and disappear.”