In Memoriam: Georgie, Barnes & Conti’s Mascot 2011-2022

Georgie, Barnes & Conti’s canine mascot of nearly 11 years, peacefully left the world last month after a brief but serious illness. We first introduced Georgie to our Barnes & Conti extended family in our 2012 Holiday Newsletter. At the time, we said:

“Georgie began accompanying Barnes & Conti Finance Manager, Heller Rathbone, to the office about a year ago. Since that time Georgie has been brightening our office and lightening our mood on countless occasions.”

“In addition to her bountiful good cheer and limitless capacity to give and receive affection, Georgie is always delighted to join any of us for lunch, or a tasty snack. Kim suggested that Georgie could be put to work screening visitors, managing security, and testing the lunchroom sofa. Georgie would need to refine her skill set in the first two areas, but she’s a real pro testing the sofa!”

Georgie didn’t exactly work on her visitor-screening skills—she welcomed all of them with equal enthusiasm—nor did she manage security. She did have her own blog feature, entitled “Wisdom from Georgie Girl,” in which she helped us observe National Poetry Month in 2013.

Georgie’s cheerfulness and capacity for affection were with her until the end. But since she was our official mascot, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about her extraordinary capacity to exercise influence non-verbally. Georgie, of course, had no words and only two basic sounds to work with: barks—which were excited, happy, and abundant—and growls, which we rarely, if ever heard from her. But when food was around, she would cleverly use behaviors from our Exercising Influence program to get a snack or share a meal.

Georgie could wag her tail or tilt her head in such a way that you just knew she was offering an incentive, your food in a fair exchange for more affection from her! She was also very good with referring to goals and benefits; after all, food made Georgie very happy, and a happy Georgie meant a happy office.

We suspect that Georgie could identify with the other Receptive Influence behaviors as well. She could offer cuddles and affection whenever someone was having a bad day at the office, and she just seemed to know, instinctively, who needed attention.

Whether or not Georgie’s nonverbal influencing skills came from being with us five days a week, or were just innate and instinctive, Georgie will be sorely missed by all of us.

Note: The behaviors discussed in the article are part of Barnes & Conti’s flagship program, Exercising Influence: Building Relationships and Getting Results™.