Expect a warm and tail-wagging welcome at Hastings Shadmehry, a family law firm in Alpharetta co-founded by Andrea D. Hastings and Mali Shadmehry. On any given day, you might encounter four to six dogs.
Angus, an English bulldog, and Bridget, a lab-terrier puppy, belong to Hastings, while Stormie, a pit bull, and Nyxie, a French bulldog puppy, are owned by Shadmehry. Attorney Lisa Haddock-Malas often brings in Zeus, a Maltese. And don’t overlook Ellie the goldendoodle, who belongs to Jill Burgtorf, the director of operations, This wasn’t the plan at the outset. “We would bring our dogs in from time to time,” says Shadmehry. “But when it really started was four years ago. We rescued Stormie at 8 weeks old, and she had been beaten so badly by her previous owner that she needed round-the-clock care due to her injuries. This prompted me bringing her to work in my purse, and ever since then there really hasn’t been a day when we haven’t had Stormie or Angus in the office.”
Angus usually hangs with the office manager, while Bridget sticks with Hastings’ husband, Ned, the director of marketing. Stormie is Shadmehry’s shadow and guards office toys like babies. Zoomies in the hallway are encouraged.
Family law can be an emotional practice area, and dogs the most popular emotional support animal, so do they ever help with clients? “Yes!” says Shadmehry. “When clients are open to it, the pups come visit during client meetings. They bring a happy energy to a stressful environment.”
“Having dogs in the office,” adds Hastings, “is a great stress-reliever for everyone, including our staff and our clients.”
