In a small town in Wisconsin, the most joyful commute of the day does not involve backpacks or lunchboxes — it involves wagging tails, muddy paws and a bright yellow school bus filled with dogs ready for adventure.
Every morning, Hope Mehlberg climbs into a paw print-painted bus and begins her route through Oconto, picking up dozens of excited pups on their way to a private dog park she created herself. What started as a simple way to get outside has since grown into K9 Konvoy, a dog day care and transport service that now brings joy not only to dogs, but to Mehlberg herself.
“The wheels on this dog bus go ’round and ’round,” Mehlberg told People, describing her daily routine of ferrying dogs to a park built just for them.
Mehlberg started K9 Konvoy in 2021 after something unexpected happened during her daily dog walks. She had been walking her own dogs, Dodge and Teddy, when she added her neighbor’s dog, Zeppelin, to the mix. After Zeppelin was hit by a truck and later recovered, Mehlberg rescued him and welcomed him into her growing pack.
From there, more dogs joined the walks — and the idea began to take shape.
“It was kind of just one of those things where I started walking my own dogs just to get out of the house, get some fresh air, get some exercise, and it just kind of snowballed into what it is now,” Mehlberg said.
At first, dog walking was a side project. But after nearly two years of balancing it with another job, Mehlberg realized she wanted more and decided to take a leap of faith.
“I wasn’t happy with what I was doing,” she said. “At that point, I was like, ‘You know what? I already have so many dogs. Let’s take a gamble on myself.’”
In the spring of 2023, she purchased an old school bus and transformed it into a canine shuttle. Around the same time, she built a 3-acre private dog park on her family’s property, complete with toys, tunnels, swings and space to run free. Today, K9 Konvoy serves 65 dogs, with about 24 pups hopping aboard the bus each day.
Mehlberg begins her mornings around 8 a.m., checking the park, fixing fences and preparing for pickup. She then spends one to two hours driving through town, collecting her furry passengers before delivering them to a full day of play.
But behind the cheerful bus rides and happy dogs is a deeper story — one of healing.
Mehlberg said she originally turned to dog walking while coping with infertility, a period she describes as one of the lowest points in her life.
“I hit a really, really, really low point in my life, which I’m thankful for now,” she said. “Looking back, it was really hard to go through, but looking at the full picture, if I wouldn’t have gone through that, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
Surrounded daily by dogs who live fully in the moment, Mehlberg found something she did not know she needed.
“I was in that dark place where I needed to get out. I needed to feel that joy again,” she said. “I’m consistently around these dogs. They’ve just helped me and showed me that it’s OK.”
Now, joy is not something she searches for — it is something she wakes up to.
“I love going to work,” Mehlberg said. “I love waking up and going to pick up all the dogs.”
Each day on the bus is different, shaped by weather, energy levels and which pups are riding along.
“Each day is different and each day is an adventure,” she said. “Each day is super fun.”
For Mehlberg, K9 Konvoy is not just a business. It is proof that sometimes healing arrives on four legs — and that following joy, even in small steps, can lead to an entirely new destination.
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