Especially those coworkers with allergies. I work in an office, not a dog park. Your fur-friend will give me hives if he licks me, and because he's near me I have to start packing an emergency inhaler again.
Thank you for the sympathy. Don't count me out as a pet lover though! I would have dogs and cats if I could, but I'd be huffing the inhaler constantly and I can't live like that. I make do with pocket pets, and am currently co-parent 2 hamsters.
Something you should consider however, is how your pet policy might make other allergy sufferers self-select out of working at your company. With 30% of the US population having allergies, and 10% reporting pet allergies (https://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-statistics), it's not inconceivable that a massive portion of people you interview would experience moderate physical discomfort during an interview at your office.
I think the intersection of development-types and severe allergies is pretty high (personal opinion from observation). Something about not being able to breathe outside or near animals makes one spend more time inside on the computer.
Pets in the office are another reason why I'm sad we don't have a better culture of private offices in this industry. Being able to close the door and equip my personal work space with a high-quality HEPA filter would make such a situation tolerable, while also allowing those with pets to keep them separate from the general population.
Luckily we're a pet-tech company and work with owners of pet care businesses all day. I think only 1 employee (out of 20) doesn't have a dog/cat currently.
No thanks.