Minty the Whangamata office lamb

Minty may still wear nappies when she goes to work at A1 Homes in Whangamata but the abandoned lamb has quickly proven her worth in sales and marketing.

Minty was born a runt of the litter on the lifestyle block where her owner, Bryn Jensen, lives.

She was brought inside one day by Bryn's 14-year-old son, Mekhi, and immediately won both their hearts, despite having to be bottle-fed every two hours.

"She's the sweetest little thing, just adorable," says Bryn. "Most lambs would have run away when you walk or drive up to them, but she just ran up to Mekhi and wouldn't leave him alone."

Minty was half the normal size of a lamb, and son and dad took turns feeding her. But Bryn works at an office near Coastal News' office in Port Rd, Whangamata and realised the lamb would be getting hungry home alone all day.

"I didn't have the heart to leave her at home so that's when she came into the office and became the office worker."

It was a rocky start.

"It was hard work at first, so I just went and got prem nappies and cut a hole in the nappy for her tail and pulled it through. The number of people coming in was amazing, she would just sit down and look out the window and you'd see people do a double-take when they walked past and they realised what they were looking at."

Bryn says she's attracted clients through the door and may even have been responsible for bringing them a sale.

"We might've sold a home out of having her here."

But don't expect to see her this week at the office. Minty has already gone on holiday to Ngatea, where she's on loan to a 7-year-old who needed a pet for pet week.

Bryn says despite her name, he is making sure she gets home safely. "I definitely want her back, I couldn't stand the thought of her going into anybody's freezer."