Today is “Take Your Dog to Work Day” and NK knows a thing or two about that! It’s bring your dog to work day everyday at NK. We have 8 dogs that take turns coming in to the office with their owners to help add to the fun atmosphere at work. Just for fun, we’d thought we’d introduce you to the dogs of NK. Of course, you can learn more about each dog in the Doggie Diaries blog that is posted on the site as well.

Class Roster

Dazey- The veteran, she’s been coming to work for 11 years and is the Queen of the NK Castle.

Nemo- The class clown, check out Nemo’s last blog to read about his goofy office adventures. He can drink the other dogs under the table in water bowl drinking contests.

Hugo- The goof ball, when Hugo is in the office, you know it, he especially loves attacking the mail cart.

Morris-The cutie pie, Morris is a ball of French Bulldog energy and also happens to be extremely adorable.

Argo-The gentle giant, a Great Dane and Lab mix weighing in at 110 lbs, he comes in a big package and also has a big heart.

Oscar-The baby, being the youngest pup at NK, we’ve watched him grow from 8 weeks when his mom adopted him until now, just about a year old.

Romeo (Meo for short)- The Ewok, when you see his blog, you’ll know why we call him that. He is anywhere from 10-13 years old, we’re not sure but the way he waddles around the office is definitely “Awwww-worthy”.

Lyla-The crazy one, at just over 1 years old, this boxer mix is full of high energy and excitement ALL OF THE TIME.

Well, summer is officially here, that’s for sure! It didn’t come unnoticed either, today marks the first day of the heat wave hitting the Philadelphia area. Here at NK, what better time to bring out the Kestrel brand’s newest addition to its product line, the Kestrel 4400 Heat Stress Tracker.  If you’ve been following the NK blog, you know that this isn’t the first time we’ve mentioned how excited we are about the new 4400. It is a product that was 13 years of research in the making. The Engineering Team at NK set out a goal to create a meter that measures WBGT using a smaller than the standard black globe (which is 6 inches in diameter), keeping it handheld and portable like the rest of the meters in the Kestrel family, and also make it waterless. Some of the known WBGT meters on the market are about 3 times the size and require distilled water to get an accurate WBGT reading. With the Kestrel 4400, you don’t need that!

Another measurement of the Heat Stress Tracker is the Black Globe measurement. The 4400 has a 1-inch black globe that accounts for radiant temperature, in other words how hot it actually feels. For example, if it’s 90 degrees outside and you’re standing under the shade of a big tree, you’re going to feel much cooler than 90 degrees, on the flip side, if you move on to a black top parking lot, you’re going to feel significantly hotter than 90 degrees.

To give you an idea of how different it can be, we thought today would be the perfect day to put it to the test. The Kestrel 4400 measured 93.7 degrees around 2:30 PM here in Boothwyn, PA. Using the 4400, we then took a look at the black globe temperature measurement and it was 122.2 degrees! Now that is a big difference. Be sure to stay hydrated during today’s heat wave and make sure you don’t go outside if you don’t have to!

Good ol’ Nemo, now he is an office clown for sure. Nemo is a silly labradoodle with lots of energy and a tail that never stops wagging, literally. He is NK’s CEO, Alix James’ dog. Even though he has two other furry playmates at home, he is the lucky duck, or dog rather, that gets to accompany his mom to work most days. Big, goofy, Nemo has been coming to work for almost 2 years now, but when he is at home he likes to chase the squirrels and foolish people who jog by his fence.

Nemo’s favorite past time is chewing anything with stuffing that can be removed, even better if the toy has a squeaker  in it.  Boy, does he have an appetite too, since he is part lab, you can imagine that he isn’t too picky about what he eats. The only thing that Alix eats that he won’t are kale chips…but that’s just about it.

When the NK team members are near the kitchen, Nemo loves tricking them into thinking he is thirsty. He will stare down at the doggy water bowl and look up at them with his big brown eyes and make them think he hasn’t had a drink for a week, even though it was probably 5 minutes ago. As soon as the bowl is filled, Nemo will drink it down to the very last drop, and if they refilled it, he’d do it all over again. That dog sure can drink!

Nemo is also known for getting people’s attention by sneaking up behind an unsuspecting NK employee and putting his head between their legs looking for a nice ear rub. He’s still not real clear on what everyone thinks it’s so funny! He has got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, especially if there is food involved, but one of his favorites is rolling around on his back in the foyer waiting for people to look at him and laugh, which happens quite a bit around here.  Speaking of food, Nemo sure knows who the suckers are for giving him treats at work, Rachel is his number one friend, she’s always got something yummy for him and the other pups in her drawer. Funny thing, is Rachel is one of the few that doesn’t actually have a dog at NK.

Remember in the beginnning how I said Nemo’s tail never stops wagging, well there is one exception to that statement. One time, he got what they call “cold-water tail” and his tail wouldn’t wag for a few days. You may have never heard of it, but it’s pretty common for labs…look it up! Anyhow, it was pretty embarrassing for the poor guy. But he’s definitely made up for lost time, no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s running up and down the aisles of cubicles, chasing balls, looking for the next person to give him an ear rub, or hunting down treats,  it’s guaranteed his tail will be wagging.

Yesterday, members from the NK team, Liz Spina and Tommy Loomis, headed down to Fort Meade in Maryland for a Sniper Competition to represent the Kestrel brand.  Held outdoors, it was a beautiful day for the competition, and with 30 sniper teams competing, the Kestrel table was busy throughout the day.

The team had the opportunity to talk to many of the participants and heard some great feedback about different models in the Kestrel line. This was the first time this group was introduced to the NEW Kestrel 4400 Heat Stress Tracker and they were quite impressed. Liz and Tommy also heard positive feedback about the Kestrel with Horus Ballistics Software, a model that released in January 2011 and is still growing in popularity, especially among military snipers.   In fact, one of the competitors had actually contacted NK in preparation for the competition to obtain a test unit through the company’s Testing & Evaluation Program. He stopped by the Kestrel table to let the team know how pleased he was with the unit. They also learned that some of the competitors were using the Kestrel 4500 with Bluetooth Wireless Data Transfer in conjunction with their Android phone and the Shooter app.

Those who participated in the competition had one of the first previews of the new MOLLE case for the Kestrel meters. They liked how compact it was and the design of the new case, it will be available for sale very shortly.   In addition, a few competitors had a chance to check out the Blue Ocean Rugged Megaphone. This megaphone was designed to be rugged and stand up to harsh conditions. It is also waterproof and extremely loud and clear. One competitor was very excited about the new product and liked how light-weight it was compared to the other megaphones he has used in the past.

The other point that competitors were extremely pleased with, is the fact that all of NK’s products are US-made. Even better, because this was a local competition, they were happy to hear that the Kestrel Pocket Weather Meters that they use for work and play are made less than 2 hours away from them. All in all, it was a great competition and NK hopes to be back next year!