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Paw-ternity leave?! Brewery offers paid time off for employees who rescue dogs

Do you have a new fur baby at home? If so, BrewDog wants to make your first days together special.
/ Source: TODAY

If you work at BrewDog and you're the new Ma or Pa(w) of a recently-adopted fur baby, you're in luck: You've got paid paw-ternity leave coming your way!

The Scottish brewery, whose website says it started in 2007 as two guys and one dog, recognizes that bringing a new dog into the home can be a ruff time.

So to turn it into a howling success, they announced earlier this week that they're giving their 1,000 employees around the world (including those working at a soon-to-open brewery in Columbus, Ohio) a week's paid leave if they become dog owners.

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This goes for puppies and full-grown rescues; it's an equal paw-pertunity for all. Paid leave for new pets in the home is an idea that's gotten leverage in the UK and is now starting to find support on our side of the pond. Which makes doggone good sense: Americans now spend more than $60 billion each year on their pets, according to the American Pet Products Association, up from $17 billion in 1994.

Taking time out for paw-ternity leave!
On paw-ternity leave, you'll have time for lots of activities with your pet!@BrewDog/Twitter

And the APPA estimates that there are around 80 million dogs and 96 million cats in households in the U.S.; by contrast, there are 73.6 million children in U.S. households under age 18.

"It's not easy trying to juggle work and settle a new dog into your life, and many members of our crew have four-legged friends at home," company co-founder (with Martin Dickie) James Watt told KARE-11 TV. "We wanted to take the stress out of the situation and let our teams take the time they need to welcome their new puppy or dog into their family."

RELATED: Paw-ternity leave? Time off to care for pets gains traction

And for those who bring home more traditional members of the family, the company claims it has "enhanced paternity and maternity pay."

"We always want to raise the bar when it comes to offering our staff the best possible benefits," Watt added. "We care about two things above all else. People and beer. We also just really like dogs."

And so do we!

Follow Randee Dawn on Twitter.