Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the pilot program as a means of boosting morale among the 70,000 employees in the Interior Department. A 2016 survey of federal workers found that just 61 percent of the Interior Department's employees reported being happy in their jobs; Interior's results placed the department 11th out of the 18 largest federal agencies.

The first test of Doggy Days at Interior will be on May 5; the next test will be on September 1. Still to be worked out are details such as whether the dogs will need to leashed or vaccinated or fully housebroken (or all of the above).

Zinke, who owns a black-and-white Havanese dog named Ragnar (above), made headlines earlier this year when he reported for his day of work by riding a horse.