My cat probably saved a meeting a few weeks ago; We were having a client teleconference, the news was depressing to all sides and everyone was dreading it, and as it was grinding to its awful conclusion my cat wandered in to see what all the negative waves were about. Client saw/heard her, I held her up for the camera, and thus started a 20 minute derail on our pets. It was the break we all needed but nobody wanted to stick their neck out for.
The news was still bad, but at least we less miserable afterward.