Dog Days of September, a gathering organized by the Edina Parks and Recreation, hosted a variety of rescues, petcares, and other canine-related businesses at Val Valkenburg Park on Thursday, Sept. 14.
At one booth, many different paintings of dogs were featured in both pop and neutral styles. Molly Oleson is a self-taught, local artist that specializes in pet portraits. “I used to do a lot of family portraits, but then it seemed like this was more what people wanted,” she said. Oleson teaches adults how to paint in step-by-step classes and owns Created4Creating, where she sells her custom paintings.
A few feet away, Fetch Pet Care offered dog treats, cat toys, and a raffle for a $50 certificate at their stall. The franchise quickly spread after starting in July 2021. Now, it boasts over 180 clients and 20 centers. Background-checked sitters go to their clients’ homes and take care of the pets so the animals don’t have to leave the comfort of their own homes. Fetch Pet Care also offers dog walking, pet sitting, and overnight care.
A bright red car took up the space adjacent to Fetch Pet Care, noticeable not only for the color, or for the two dogs inside smiling at passersby, but mostly for the attention-attracting slogan on the back; “Scoopy Poo… We love taking crap from you!” Sonja Tengdin, the owner, has been running the company for 21 years. She got the idea of a business after paying her sons $10 a week to clean up the lawn. “We scoop the poop and make sure their yard is all clean,” Tengdin said. “It was very slow in the beginning, but now we have over 500 weekly customers.”
Warrior Dog Rescue is a nonprofit organization that has been running for six years. Erin and Kris are supervisors at their facility. “Seeing all the puppies get adopted is definitely a favorite,” Erin said. “We rescue dogs out of Alabama that have been surrendered, that live on the streets, that have been neglected or abused, all of that. We’ve chosen to partner with one rescue in Alabama that shares a lot of the same mission ideas as us and we’ve been able to save lots of dogs that way.” Erin and Kris said that they really enjoy going down to the sister rescue in Alabama to do mission work.
A large pen was surrounded by a small crowd near the edge of the parking lot; inside, a litter of puppies could be seen chewing on tails, sticking their snouts in grass, and playing with each other. Mary Beth Larson, a volunteer at the foster-based rescue Healing Hearts, brought a six-week-old litter of puppies to the event. Larson hopes they will “be adopted and find their forever families.” Healing Hearts has rescues all over the metro area. They have saved the lives of dogs from states as far as Texas and Missouri. Volunteers transport dogs, take them to the vet, and volunteer at puppy parties. Larson’s favorite part about volunteering for Healing Hearts is “helping the dogs, because if they stayed where they are, they probably wouldn’t be around much longer,” Larson said. “We do different things within the rescue, and every little thing helps the dogs to find a good home to have a good life. That’s really what matters.”
