MARION — Hot dog! There’s a new Chief Morale Officer at Marion Institute, and she’s quite fetching.

Meet Biscuit the dog, a four-month-old yellow labrador and Marion Institute’s newest puppy pal. She was adopted by Human Resources Director and Rochester resident Abigail Smith.

Biscuit takes her job as Chief Morale Officer very seriously, bringing joy to the institute and its employees, according to Smith

It was love at first sight when her family first met Biscuit at the Dartmouth Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Smith said Biscuit was “so patient” with her 8-year-old son Alex and 5-year-old daughter Lydia upon meeting them.

“She is energetic, very sweet, playful [and] a tiny bit naughty in a good way,” said Smith.

Her family adopted Biscuit to help them through feelings of grief after experiencing a death in the family.

“[We] really adopted Biscuit to bring some joy and light,” said Smith.

Marion Institute has a dog-friendly office, allowing devoted dog owners to take care of their canine companions throughout the work day.

This pet-welcoming policy was instated to allow employees to have more flexibility in their schedules and improve the mental health of the owners, according to Smith.

Biscuit is the latest addition to a pack of fuzzy friends that all come with their owners to the institute.

“Without the support of the Marion Institute, we wouldn’t have been able to adopt a puppy just because of the demands of training and getting her outside and things like that,” said Smith.

She now brings Biscuit to the office twice a week, where the puppy is getting used to being around people and learning to behave in group settings.

“I think it makes it better for our team, being able to have the flexibility to bring their dog in if they are going to be working a long day,” said Marion Institute Executive Director Liz Wiley.

Instead of sitting in the office, the team at the Marion Institute often go on “walking meetings” where employees stroll outside with their pups in tow and discuss work matters while spending time in nature.

“It makes the office feel a little friendlier. I think it builds communication. It kind of sparks us to speak to each other,” she said.

In her free time, Biscuit enjoys digging holes and cleaning up trash outside so much so that Smith and her family have to bring multiple bags on walks to assist Biscuit's environmental cleanup efforts.

“She’s just a sweetheart,” said Smith.