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back to article Short-staffed website swaps DOGS for DEVELOPERS

Like many companies, Seattle-based dog-sitting-as-a-service rover.com struggles to find software developers. Similarly afflicted companies often make cash awards to those who refer them useful talent. Back in April Rover.com decided to offer them dogs instead. Here's the company's pitch, taken from its jobs page: For the …

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  1. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. LinkOfHyrule
    Joke

    I'm only joking - no animals were harmed in the making of this forum post

    They should also throw in a free brick and mail sack - and directions to your nearest canal - just in case!

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  3. Charles Manning

    Bloody good wheeze, if it works.

    Normally a finder's fee for a programmer would be a good few k in cash. All these people give you is a free puppy off death row.

    If anything this will make it even harder to find staff.

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  4. ACx

    So, like if you by a caravan off a pikey site?

    ("Snatch" reference, for the semi conscious)

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    1. lawl
      Reply Icon

      d'ya like dags?

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  5. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    Real dogs not required for programming

    http://sjbaker.org/humor/cardboard_dog.html

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  6. Arachnoid
    Facepalm

    Good ideas

    Sometimes what looks good on paper doesn't work well in real life......programmers should have known that

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    1. uncredited
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: Good ideas

      Maybe the programmers would have known that but they're usually not the ones doing the actual hiring.

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  7. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Happy

    I see an opening here.

    Different dogs for different programmers.

    An obsessive geek gets a terrier.

    A laid back, casual guy gets a dobermen.

    The uber friendly socially aware programmer (are there any?) gets a spaniel.

    2 1
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I see an opening here.

      The one who peppers his code with friendly comments gets a red setter?

      1 0
      1. Tom Maddox Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Go

        Re: I see an opening here.

        Eadon gets a feral chihuahua?

        3 0
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Thumb Up

          Re: the feral chihuahua

          An upvote just for the thought of a feral chihuahua.

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  8. Gordon Pryra

    Looking at their page

    And you can see why they need some developers, though to be honest, do they really need 4 developers?

    I would suggest the owner needs to spend an hour looking into the CMS he is using and either replicating it on wordpress or something less bloated than the thing he is using now.

    Then read the Google webmasters guidelines and implement those. (these are good enough to cover all search engines)

    I know site validation is unpopular with idiots who cant write clean HTML, but it is a significant issue and shows a really lazy company.

    W3C is your friend not a enemy!!!

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  9. FunkyEric
    WTF?

    Ummmmm....

    I never realised that dogs made good programmers, but I suppose the wages are cheaper.

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    1. Kubla Cant
      Reply Icon
      Unhappy

      Re: Ummmmm....

      I've had to fix quite a few programs that were probably written by dogs.

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      1. Fink-Nottle
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Re: Ummmmm....

        Reminds me of the time in the 90's I tried to use Dragon Dictate - mainly to add commenting to a load of code I'd written.

        My dogs generally spent all day snoozing in my office, but the moment their master started talking to the mysterious invisible stranger they'd go nuts.

        My code comments would *woof* end up *woof* *woof* looking *woof* *woof* *woof* something like *woof* *woof* *woof* *woof* *woof* *woof* this.

        Needless to say, I soon gave up on dictation.

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  10. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Pint

    I like Chow-Chows

    I'm sure they are getting paid more than I do now.

    Even the food might be better.

    USA, here I come...

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  11. Don Jefe
    Unhappy

    Animal Adoptions

    It is a real shame how animal adoptions, in the U.S. anyway, have become career paths for people. It is entirely possible the $1,000 award won't cover the cost of an adoption from a private organization. It used to be that people volunteered to help at private shelters but now they often have a organizational structure as large and complex as a medium sized NPO. There's a private shelter in Loudoun County, VA who is looking for an Executive Director and a Director of Major Donors with salaries closing in on $200k.

    I have a rescue dog (wife couldn't resist it's picture) but our other dogs are AKC registered Bloodhounds which cost less as puppies than the rescue did and no one knows what kind of dog it is or how old it is; under breed it is listed as a 'blend', which I always found funny.

    I support our county animal shelter generously as they have a clean facility, just two employees and over half their funding comes from donations, adoptions with spay/neuter and shots are $80... It is hard for me to support a private company with high paid executives when they charge $800+ for an adoption, have wonky open hours and snooty staff. They don't want you to adopt a companion, they want you to give them a bunch of money & they'll let you have a dog in exchange. There's a subtle, but important, difference.

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    1. Alistair
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Re: Animal Adoptions

      But, but, but .. Don;

      The PRIVATE sector always does things BETTER and CHEAPER than the public sector doesn't it?

      Damn happy I'm north of all that -- $120 for the cat, neutered, surgeried (he lost ear tips and tail to frostbite, and *possible* abuse) and THAT after we'd been going to the HS for about 10 weeks looking for a cat, never a quibble or twitch about if we "were ever gonna buy". (Something I've heard at a certain large commercial pet vendor that has oozed its way north to here)

      As much as I get the "save the pets" bit, and I'm happy to go to the non-commercial shelters for a pet, I'm damned if I'll sponsor someone to make a $200k/a salary for something like being a director of an organization like that.

      The dog however, came with the house. Sort of. (a good friend had a litter of puppies just days before we signed the paperwork on the new place), and well, the SO conned me into it. As I thought, **I'm** the one walking the dog.

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  12. Jon Double Nice

    All the good talent goes to petsovernight.com

    http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto3/petsOvernight/

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  13. elawyn
    Happy

    Can someone let me know if Playboy ever come up with something similar to this 'rewards' idea?

    1 0
  14. Oninoshiko

    behind the times

    Competing with zanga for engineers isn't hard:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/04/zynga_layoffs/

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