More than 10,000 dogs join employees at Amazon offices today, but back in 1996 there was only one: a Welsh corgi named Rufus who roamed the first warehouse and loved meetings. His lasting paw print on the company is much greater than anything his parents, Susan and Eric Benson, ever expected.
When the couple came to Amazon—Eric as one of the company’s first software engineers and Susan as the first managing editor—they were among fewer than 20 employees working out of a former janitorial supply warehouse. Prepared for start-up hours, they asked Jeff Bezos if they could plan to bring Rufus to work. His response, Eric recalls, was, “Is he a good dog?”
He was a great dog, and today Amazon owes its remarkable dog-friendly culture to Rufus. Though he passed away in 2009, his presence is still felt at the Seattle headquarters, where a building bears his name, and photos mark his memory. Rufus is even the name behind Amazon’s latest generative AI-powered shopping assistant!
Photo by JORDAN STEAD / Amazon