Fred Josephsen runs a hardwood floor business in southern New Jersey, and for years he has photographed the dogs he meets in clients’ homes and posted them on his company’s Facebook page as the “Employee of the Week”. The dogs do no flooring, of course. They supervise, nap on the job, steal shoelaces and, in a few cases, keep a polite distance from the noisy sander.
The habit went global in August 2017, when his son Dillon posted a few of the photos on Twitter with a one-line explanation. The tweet spread around the world, news stations picked up the story, and the business page, Stairfaces and Josephsen Hardwood Floors in Northfield, New Jersey, reportedly jumped from about 200 likes to more than 14,000.
Here are 30 of the honourees, arranged by date from the earliest posts in 2010 to late 2018, with notes on each one.
The tweet that started it all. On 1 August 2017 Fred’s son Dillon explained what his dad does on the job, and the screenshot shows more than 300,000 likes; news reports counted over 100,000 retweets within days.
How the Employee of the Week began
According to Dillon, the family has been doing this for years, ever since his dad set up the company’s Facebook page. Fred spends his days in other people’s houses, often for several days at a time, and the household dog is usually the first to greet him and the last to stop watching. Posting a photo of that dog with a mock job title turned a routine work diary into something people actually wanted to read.
The format is simple: a friendly photo, the dog’s name and a line or two of gentle humour about how the “employee” performed. That consistency is what made the series work once strangers discovered it. It is also good business. Clients were delighted to see their pets featured, and Dillon said that after the story spread, many people left warm reviews of the company’s floors.
The early years: 2010 to 2014
Killer, January 2010. One of the earliest posts on the page, with a one-word caption and a black Lab-type dog grinning on the doorstep. The name is a joke the photo instantly undoes.
Hershey, January 2010. A curly chocolate-brown dog stretched out under a chair, posted the same day as Killer. In these early posts the dogs simply appear on the page; the “Employee of the Week” title came later.
Pita, October 2013. Introduced as “Employee of the Day”, this tan-and-white pit bull type stands on a dark floor. The award had not yet settled into its weekly format.
November 2013. A fluffy grey-and-white Husky or Malamute-type dog with a pink collar gazes up at the camera, eyes glowing in the flash. The post has no name, just the photo.
Bo, February 2014. A reddish-brown dog lying on the protective paper that covers a floor during work, “on the job, literally,” as the post joked. Floor protection paper keeps dust and finish off surfaces that are not being worked on.
Ollie, March 2014. A black-and-white Border Collie-type dog resting on freshly sanded boards. Herding breeds often like to keep an eye on whatever is happening in their house.
Tika, March 2014. A Siberian Husky with striking pale blue eyes sits politely on an unfinished wood floor. Blue eyes are common in Huskies and are one of the breed’s best-known traits.
Laying down on the job, March 2014. A Husky naps on a dog bed beside a large chew, prompting Fred to wonder whether he should take the award away. It was the first post in this set to call the title an award.
Palmer, July 2014. A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel stares straight into the lens. The breed was developed as a companion dog and is known for its friendly, people-focused temperament.
Rescues, Boxers and supervisors: 2015 to 2016
Harley, July 2015. A yellow Lab-type dog with a baseball in her mouth, ready to play on a grey carpet. Dogs that offer you a ball are usually inviting you to join in.
Bill W., Einstein and Monroe, September 2015. Three rescued brothers from different mothers shared the title the week Fred laid commercial laminate in their home. Bill W., at the top, gets around happily on three legs.
Vito, September 2015. A Boxer who kept his distance, tongue out, from the top of the stairs. Fred called it a “long distance” working relationship, a fair compromise with a dog who was not sure about the stranger.
Isla and Kona, November 2015. Named “Supervisors of the Year”, the Josephsens’ own dogs watched through a glass door while the company refinished its own floors. Isla is a dachshund-beagle rescue; Kona is a shaggy dark dog who appears again below.
Harley, June 2016. A German Shepherd looks up at the camera on a tiled floor and was described as the happiest helper ever on a job. Shepherds are alert by nature and often follow visitors closely.
Frida, October 2016. A small black-and-tan dog, perhaps a Miniature Pinscher mix, who spent the job nibbling Fred’s shoelaces to get herself let outside. Sweet, sweet girl, the post concluded.
Tucker, November 2016. A scruffy cream-coloured dog who, between chasing squirrels and showing off a new sweater, supervised as Fred removed two layers of old flooring before installing a new one.
The viral year: 2017
Paulie Girl, February 2017. A fawn Pug mix who stayed close to Fred all day, until the sanders started. Floor sanders are loud, and many dogs sensibly take themselves elsewhere.
Baron, April 2017. A German Shepherd mix rolling on his back in the grass in Northfield, New Jersey, and described as a comedian who made it hard to get any work done.
Ralph, August 2017. A beagle mix who had been on holiday at the start of a repair and refinish project. Ralph was the reigning employee when the story went viral, and local TV coverage named him as the latest winner.
Isla, 2 August 2017. The day after Dillon’s tweet, the page welcomed a wave of new Facebook fans with a repeat winner: the family’s own dachshund-beagle rescue, lying next to a drum sander on a newly sanded floor.
Buster, September 2017. A white-muzzled Beagle on a half-stripped floor, who seemed to pose every time the camera appeared. His camera-shy sidekick, Sparky, never made it into a photo.
Isla, September 2017. During a big job in a home with no pets, Fred shared a close-up of Isla, rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico, and sent thoughts to the island’s people and its “satos”, the local word for street dogs. Hurricane Maria had struck Puerto Rico the day before.
Otis, November 2017. A one-year-old yellow Labrador puppy with a tennis ball, said to catch balls hit with a hockey stick. Labradors were bred as retrievers, so a game of fetch is close to a job description.
Blizzards and new floors: 2018
Fred and Kona, January 2018. On a day of blizzard conditions in the Northeast, the owner himself appears, hugging his “full time employee” Kona on a wooden floor at home. Early January 2018 brought a powerful winter storm to the US East Coast.
Dexter, January 2018. A grey-muzzled returning winner who did not seem thrilled to have Fred back. The second photo shows the two of them in a selfie that suggests a truce: they have reached an understanding.
Abigail, March 2018. A fluffy white dog with black ears who broke a run of lonely jobs, welcomed as more of a charming hostess than an employee.
Tucker, June 2018. A different Tucker, a shaggy Yorkshire Terrier type, ended a long streak of jobs in pet-free homes. He was enjoying his family’s new acacia hardwood floors, a dense, strongly grained wood popular for its warm colour.
Shoots and Scores, July 2018. Two Labrador brothers, one resting on the other in a doorway, shared the title while keeping close watch on the work.
Lacey, July 2018. A black Portuguese Water Dog relaxing on a sofa. The breed was used by Portuguese fishermen to herd fish into nets and carry messages between boats, and later became famous as the breed of the Obama family’s dogs.
Bailey, November 2018. A curly-coated Cocker Spaniel whose tail, the post said, moved faster than a hummingbird’s wings. Cocker Spaniels are known for constantly wagging tails and cheerful personalities.
Keeping dogs safe during floor work
Behind the jokes is a real issue for anyone having floors done. Sanding is loud and dusty, and some finishes give off strong fumes while they cure, so homeowners and contractors usually agree a plan for pets in advance.
- Keep dogs out of the work area during sanding and finishing, using a closed room, a baby gate or a stay with friends.
- Follow the finish manufacturer’s guidance on ventilation and how long to wait before people and pets walk on the floor; paw prints in wet finish are a common callback.
- Watch for stress. Noise-sensitive dogs may hide, pant or try to escape, as Paulie Girl did when the sanders started. A quiet room with water, a bed and a familiar toy helps.
- Remember that nails scratch. Trimming nails and adding rugs in busy areas keeps a new floor looking good longer.
Fred’s posts show the friendlier side of the same situation: a tradesman who treats the resident dog as part of the household and leaves everyone with a smile, and a photo.
Sources: FOX 13 / FOX 5 (3 August 2017): Business owner awards ‘employee of the week’ to dogs he meets on job site; MetaFilter (2 August 2017): They’re All Good Employees, Brent; photos and captions from Stairfaces and Josephsen Hardwood Floors on Facebook; stairfaces.com.
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