KNOXVILLE — A downtown law firm keeps a kangaroo named Ruth in its lobby. Ruth belongs to partner Doug Fenner, who brings her to work because she pulls down the curtains when she is left alone at his house. People from the office buildings nearby have started coming in to see her.
Visitors stop at receptionist Kay Lowe’s desk and sign the clipboard that sits beside the telephone. Lowe said they seem to assume they have to register before they can go near the kangaroo. The form asks which attorney they have come to see. Visitors have been writing “kangaroo” in that space.
Once they have signed in, they ask what Ruth eats. Lowe tells them pellets, from a bin behind the desk, and that Ruth is allowed an apple once in a while. The visitors then ask if they can give her one. The firm does not stock apples, so the apple that gets fed to Ruth is the one Lowe brought for her own lunch.
“They stand there while I dig it out of my bag,” Lowe said. “I brought that to eat with my sandwich, and now I’m up here slicing it on the front desk with a plastic knife while they take pictures.”
Lowe has started leaving her lunch in her car. She has also tried asking visitors whether they have an appointment before she hands over the clipboard. They say they are just stopping by, and they take it anyway.
Fenner calls the foot traffic business development. He has told Lowe to keep the completed sign-in sheets, because the people on them work downtown and might need a lawyer someday. He took the clipboard into his office to copy the sheets.
“There’s a property manager on here I’ve been trying to reach,” Fenner said. “I’ll have to ask Kay whether he left a card.”
Lowe has put a stack of the firm’s brochures next to the clipboard. Visitors move them to make room for their phones. She has also asked for apples to be added to the office grocery order, which Fenner has not signed yet.