New option for dog owners shopping at Festival in Holmen

No more worrying about leaving your dog at home or having to risk keeping pup in a hot car while you shop.

The Festival Foods in Holmen has what its calling the Pup Spot.

“Right now, we’re just starting with two large crates and we have nice padded beds in there for the dogs and we will supply water,” store manager Mark Przywojski said. “It gets the dogs out of the heat and it’s certainly comfortable for the dogs — even on a hot day. It’s very shaded there.”

Przywojski said the area has been out for two weeks and has been used quite a bit by customers.

“We have a lot of guests that come to the store on foot and a lot of them bring their dogs with them,” Przywojski said. “We don’t want them bringin the dogs in the stores but we did want them to have a place to stay in a safe environment.”.

Przywojski added the crates eliminate the issue of dogs in hot cars, which comes up quite often by concerned shoppers alerting management.

“Customers will come to the service counter with concerns,” he said. “When that does happen, we do get on the public address system and make calls.”

Top six things to know about the Pup Spot

• All of the kennels have locks so your dog stays safely inside.
• The kennels are located in shaded, sheltered areas, often under the overhang or near the entrance of our stores, safe from the elements.
  Kennels are cleaned regularly.
• Each kennel has a water bowl that is mounted to the kennel and removable for easy cleaning (water is not provided).
• We recommend guests leave their dogs at the Pup Spot for a maximum time of 15 minutes. Kennels are available on a first come, first serve basis.
• We also ask that all dogs staying at the Pup Spot are vaccinated to keep our furry friends healthy and happy.