Something for the weekend: Brazilian bar association the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB) has hired a local stray cat to welcome its clients, after the imaginative feline used the firm’s reception to shelter from heavy rain.
A stray brown and white Siamese cat, named Leon, sheltered from the downpour in OAB’s reception, swiftly making the area his new personal residence. However, guests attending the building began filing complaints against the friendly kitten, when Leon started introducing himself to regular guests; some visitors said the approachable puss was in the way, and that there was no space for him in what was deemed a serious institution, reported website Paws Planet.
Nevertheless, the legal organisation could see that Leon clearly demonstrated good people skills, and so they hired him to welcome clients to the building. In order to mitigate further complaints, the business presented the new four-legged staff member with his own uniform and employee badge.
Now titled Dr Leon The Lawyer Cat, OAB’s new starter has generated quite a name for himself, in particular among his 50,000 followers on social media platform Instagram. In addition to fame, shelter and regular chin scratches, Dr Leon's role also entitles him to free food and cat toys.
Beyond giving the serious firm a softer, more approachable brand, Dr Leon has also inspired a deeper commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) for OAB.
Dr Leon’s legal representatives told Paws Planet: “We are finalising the documents to launch an animal rights institute. It’s called Instituto Dr Leon. Unfortunately, we cannot house all [the animals], so we will fund the [non-governmental organisations (NGOs)] in town. We will be an example for Brazil [to follow].
“Today, he is very dear to everyone. Even those [that] didn’t like him got used to his presence and have fun with him. His favourite place is President Auriney’s sofa; he loves to play with his toys.”
Here at Employee Benefits, we love that the OAB has embraced Leon’s diverse skill set to offer him a personalised job role; the fact that the popular pet can also get all his meals for free at work is a great benefit, too. We wonder whether someone would pay us to simply sit around looking friendly and munching free food...
