Golden Retriever is Spreading Pawsitivity as Hyderabad Startup’s Chief Happiness Officer

No skills, no language, no source placement… This guy still made it as a CHIEF Happiness OFFICER! Denver, a golden retriever, is stealing hearts not just in the hired firm but all over the internet. 

If you always thought productivity in tech offices could be achieved with caffeine or code, don’t forget the power of a cute dog. Internet users are raving about a Hyderabad startup, Harvested Robotics, which has a golden retriever named Denver as its Chief Happiness Officer. And what’s more interesting is that Denver Pawlson now has a LinkedIn page with 470+ connections already!!! 

Making Pets the Heroes of Our Tech Problems

Harvested Robotics is a startup that focuses on sustainable agriculture and laser-based weeding. This tech company has 8 employees, but because they understand what stress can do to the team, they adopted a dog that is debugging stress while the employees debug the code.

Denver’s position involves him being an example of peace and joy. Rahul Arepaka, one of the co-founders, introduced Denver on LinkedIn a week ago with a heartwarming and (p)awww-ing caption: “He doesn’t code. He doesn’t care. He just shows up, steals hearts, and keeps the energy up”.

Keeping the emotional and human aspect aside, this step by Harvested Robotics is beyond a fun marketing gimmick. The reason Denver was introduced is to address a serious issue in India which is of increased amount of stress. We are all aware of the fact that India is one of the most overworked job markets, where employees are expected to work more to get the bare minimum. Fixing this is challenging, but small steps like having a stress buster in the company can make a difference. 

According to HABRI research, 87% of employees are more likely to work longer at pet-friendly companies, while 91% of them feel happily engaged. Adhering to this, companies like Google, and Amazon have always been on the pet-positive side for years, and now, after the Harvesting Robotics initiative, we believe more companies will join the pack. 

Why Tech Companies have More stress? 

New studies show that Indian IT professionals, programmers and data scientists are facing more stress than they ever have before. The 2025 survey reports that 50% of IT employees find too much work to be their biggest stressor, and this is followed by strict deadlines (32%) and working longer than expected (28%). Work often gets in the way of family life for DevOps professionals, with 39% saying it makes a difference.

The data shows even greater disparity for data professionals. Research by Accenture and Qlik showed that over 85% of Indian employees feel stressed or unhappy with working with data, more than any other country in the world. Because workers are stressed, Indian companies are thought to lose around Rs 33,216 crore yearly from reduced productivity and time off because of information overload. More than seven out of ten workers say data overload significantly adds to their stress at work and 64% have missed at least a day because of stress from technology.

Why was the dog chosen? There Is Scientific Evidence To Support It

Why choose a golden retriever as the breed? It’s commonly observed from research that workplaces with pets have more engaged workers, fewer employees out of work and more loyalty. Dogs trigger the production of oxytocin, which boosts happiness and calms the cardiovascular system. Having dogs around encourages team building, helps people get closer and brings relief through their friendly and calm influence on everyone.

Denver does not spend each day fetching coffee or editing computer code. He replaces his bed with walks around the office, meeting people, jumping in on work meetings (sometimes with some tail wagging) and is present whenever someone feels chatty or needs a smile. The result? Space that encourages teamwork, easy communication, and inventive thinking. We aren’t promoting Hyderabad Tech Startup, this is our view as the third person. 

A Pawsitively Notable Trend

Harvested Robotics’ decision is in keeping with a broad trend among innovative businesses. By being pet-friendly, Harvested Robotics is showing its concern for employees’ well-being and better work-life balance. 

A lot of professionals and internet users have liked this decision and praised it. Denver is now known for being the perfect team member, lifting up employees, and the fun part is he is also connecting and commenting on social media. 

After we went through Denver’s profile, we found 2 of the best comments: “I also bark when work is not going smoothly.” and “Thanks - Rahul. Can I be CEO instead - Pawsible?” aren’t they cute?!

A Word for India’s Tech Industry

Because the boundaries between work and life are increasingly blurred for India’s coding, data science and IT experts, Denver’s story matters more than being only a feel-good headline—it shows that happy people at work are essential. Helping employees achieve wellness isn’t limited to benefits; it means making places where individuals (and sometimes their pets) are free to excel.

If you or your team feel overwhelmed with work, let a dog come by for a friendly nudge and wagging tail, and it could improve your day. If you’re in charge of a startup or HR department, it may be worth giving your own Chief Happiness Officer, Dogs and all, a try. 

Now that’s what we call a “pawsitive” disruption! So, be a better HR or a better manager, and hire a dog or a cat as your Chief Happiness Officer.