Get in, loser, we’re going to the dog park.
An old school bus has transformed into a doggie day care transport van that takes excited pups outside for play time and socializing — and it has captured the hearts of millions online.
K9 Konvoy, which boasts over 981,000 followers on TikTok, operates out of the small city of Oconto, Wisconsin, where founder Hope Mehlberg picks up people’s dogs to get them out of the house.
“A lot of [who] I call my pet parents are working throughout the day, so it’s just a nice little service to get their dogs out of the house, get some interaction and play time because in our location, the closest doggie daycare is about 20 to 30 minutes away,” Mehlberg told USA Today.
She posts clips of the jam-packed canine mobile on social media, highlighting birthdays and daily snack routines, as viewers fawn over the pups’ personalities or, on occasion, their accessories. The birthday dog often wears a festive hat and their paw-rent sends treats on the bus to celebrate, which one viewer said reminded them “of elementary school.”
On St. Patrick’s Day, the pack of pooches wore headpieces adorned with four leaf clovers, leprechaun hats and festive antennas as they gobbled up pieces of cheese one by one.
The cuteness overload was enough to make some viewers reconsider their line of work.
“This is my dream job,” one fan wrote in the comments.
“This video makes me rethink all of my life and career choices,” agreed another.
Even Mehlberg calls it the “best job” she’s ever had.
“I get to spend the day with dogs,” she said. “I can’t complain about that. Some days are a little faster than others, but overall, it is most the best job I’ve ever had, and I think I will ever have.”
The idea for the K9 Konvoy was born out of Mehlberg’s desire to get her own dogs out of the house.
Mehlberg, a former federal employee, worked early morning shifts and would return home by noon to take her dogs and her in-laws’ dogs outside. At the time, she had two dogs: Dodge, a yellow lab who turns 11 next month, and her late rescue Teddy, who was recently put down.
She’d pile the four pups into her car and take them to another location for some time outside, as “a stress reliever.”
When her neighbors requested that their German Shepherd join on Mehlberg’s daily walks, she realized she’d need a larger vehicle and purchased a utility van, removing the seats to fit her furry passengers.
Then, word got around and more people asked if their precious pets could join, evolving Mehlberg’s humble afternoon activity into a full-blown “pet-walking service,” eventually quitting her full-time job to develop her new business.
“That is when I got the bus,” she explained. “It’s kind of just been a wild ride. I’m overwhelmed with all of the support.”
She begins at 8 a.m. every day by loading up her own dogs before stopping at houses around town to pick up the fur babies of her customers before going to a local three-acre park, a fenced outdoor area owned by Mehlberg’s family.
“It’s insane,” she said. “I never would have thought it would have been become anything like this but here we are.”
Since launching K9 Konvoy, she’s grown her canine clientele to about 22 to 26 pups of all ages, sizes, breeds and, of course, personalities.
“The biggest thing with me is I let dogs be dogs,” she said. “If there are mud puddles out there, I let them roll. At the end of the day, if they are dirty or I have to bathe them, then I did my job.”
