— Bill is a certified life saver, while Lacey and Frisky have been used as clever marketing tools.

Sprocket has a night job and Hope treads lightly in a fragile environment.

But Mijo? He’s just a knucklehead.

Employees at a number of local businesses enjoy a perk that can’t be wiped out by a bad economy — they share their work space with four-footed friends.

Possibly the most familiar around San Marcos is Hope, the gray tabby that lives among the exotic merchandise at Paper Bear on North LBJ.

“People will say ‘Do you know there’s a cat in here?’ laughed employee Shelle Roberson. “She’s just a sweet little girl. She feels like a rabbit, she’s so soft.”

A stray found and fed by the store’s owner Carol Powers, Hope’s had the run of the place for years. She has her own basket but often prefers to nap on a countertop. She’d sleep among the jewelry in display cases if they weren’t kept closed, Roberson says.

“She doesn’t break anything, she’s never had a confrontation with a customer or anything like that and she’s never made a mess. She does very well for a store pet.”

She has, though, caused some modifications to be made in the shop. “We had maroon felt on the bead bar but we had to switch it out for gray because she’s gray,” Roberson says. Before the switch, “we would have to get tape, like roll our hands in tape every day” to pick up cat hair.

Around the corner at the Hub Cycle Shop on Hopkins, hound dog Dixie saunters out for a greeting while Sprocket the cat cuddled in the front window display.

Shop owner Andy Howard takes Dixie home with him at night but Sprocket stays. “A friend of mine kind of dropped him off here and he’s been good. He takes care of any kind of pest that might be around,” Howard said of the yellow and white feline.

Dixie, likewise, was a gift. “She was running wild out by Lakeway. A friend of mine found her and gave her to me.”

Because of her size, Howard encourages Dixie to stay in the back, where bicycle repairs are made. She sometimes sleeps in the alley too, in the sunshine, he said.

“We’ve got a little pad out there for her, it’s pretty peaceful,” Howard said.

Customers seem to respond to both, he said, even if some of the inventory gets damaged when Sprocket goes wild. “Occasionally she pops a tire or something, but what are you going to do?” he asked.

Though Hope at Paper Bear may be seen by more people, Frisky and Lacey, who live at Air One Air Conditioning and Heating on Hunter Road, actually have their own media kit.

“Would you like me to e-mail you one?” asks owner Ernest Murry.

Frisky, an orange tomcat, “wondered in with a customer and stayed,” explained employee Dense Seiler. Lacey, a tuxedo cat, had a litter not long after she arrived on the scene.

“The owner’s wife had rescued her and taken her to the shelter. They said they’d probably find homes for the kittens but not Lacey, so she went back and got her.”

The cats have a “calming effect” on people, some of whom stop by just to pet them. Frisky, in particular, has a real following. “He greets you at the door. He’s an attention hog, a dog in cat’s clothing. Give him time and he’ll roll over and let you rub his belly.”

Mijo might roll over too, but first, he’d have to calm down.

The six-month-old chocolate Labrador comes to work at Discount Tire Warehouse in South Guadalupe every day with his owner Hector Zarate, who says it’s a practical matter.

“He’s a gorgeous thing, but you know, Labs are kind of knuckleheads. When they’re young they gnaw and they bite. Leave them alone and they’ll destroy stuff — doghouses, fences.”

Mijo spends part of the day in a kennel/crate and part of it loose in the shop. “We’re trying to get him a little more accustomed to customers and other dogs. He’s growing into it.”

Zarate says Mijo also exemplifies another known Labrador quality — being good with youngsters.

“Little kids have a blast with him,” Zarate brags. “So far everybody’s been super positive. We have tons of dog lovers in this town. Everybody has been great.”

For the opposite of destruction, there’s Bill, a large black and tan tabby in residence at the Springtown Veterinary Hospital. When not playing with a leash, or “keeping all the (kenneled) pets in line,” he’s a bona fide hero.

Tail-less but not a Manx, Bill has “ruled the roost” for nine or more years. Employee Laura Engstrom said he used to spend more time in the lobby but developed a bad habit. “He likes to dig in the food,” she explained.

“He does have an attitude but he’s a pretty sweet boy. He’s also our blood donor so if we ever need blood for sick kitties we get blood from him. He’s probably saved quite a few kitties’ lives.”

Have a shop pet?

E-mail alandis@sanmarcosrecord.com and we’ll post your photos online.