Our Companions Wins Top Workplaces 2026!

I am absolutely thrilled to share some wonderful news with the Our Companions community: OC has been named the #1 Top Workplace in the small business category by the Hartford Courant!

As if that weren’t exciting enough, we also received a special “New Ideas” award, recognizing a workplace where employees feel encouraged to contribute ideas, think creatively and help shape the organization’s future.

Of course, receiving an award is always a tremendous honor. However, this one is particularly meaningful to me because of how it is earned.

The Top Workplaces program, administered by Energage, is based entirely on confidential feedback from employees. There is no panel of judges choosing the winners. The people who work here are the ones evaluating their experience — the culture, leadership, communication, sense of connection and, importantly, their belief in the mission that brings them to work each day. That makes being named #1 especially gratifying.

When we started Our Companions nearly 25 years ago, I knew that creating a different kind of organization for animals would require creating a different kind of organization for people, too. The two have always gone hand in hand. Animals receive extraordinary care when the people caring for them feel valued, supported and empowered to do their best work.

The Hartford Courant’s feature on OC captured so much of what makes this organization special: from our 47-acre Sanctuary in Ashford and Valerie Friedman Program Center in Manchester to the many programs that help animals and the people who love them. At the very heart of the story, however, were the people who make all of that work possible.

Our staff bring tremendous skill, compassion and creativity to their jobs, often doing work that can be emotionally demanding as well as deeply rewarding. They support the animals, but they also support one another.

While this particular award is based on employee feedback, I cannot talk about the culture of Our Companions without talking about our extraordinary volunteers. Some 400 dedicated individuals give their time and talents to this organization, making possible so much of the work we do.

Although the plaque may say, “Top Workplace,” I think of this recognition as something larger. It celebrates the people who believe animals deserve our very best, and who put that belief into practice every day.

As we approach our 25th anniversary, I find myself thinking about how much has changed since our earliest days and how much has remained the same. We have grown beyond anything I could have imagined in those early years. Still, the heart of OC has never changed: do the right thing for animals, and value the people who make that possible.

To our remarkable staff and volunteers: thank you. This honor belongs to you.

And to the Hartford Courant, thank you for this wonderful recognition and for helping us share the story of the people who make Our Companions such an extraordinary place.

I couldn’t be prouder.

Susan Linker
Founder & CEO