Courtesy of Dog's Day Out
Dog's Day Out
Ralph Bernstein had spent the majority of his career in corporate banking. He worked in downtown Minneapolis, walked through the skyways with other professionals, and dressed the part with suits and a bluetooth earpiece.
But, at age 49, Bernstein unexpectedly became a widow after the death of his wife, Stephanie. She was an otherwise healthy person, but suffered a stroke and passed away five weeks later, leaving him, their two grown children, and their pug Frannie. The event also left him doubting his career.
“It’s kind of one of those events that oftentimes makes you stop and, you know, take a look at your life,” he says. “After a couple of years of continuing in the corporate world, I came to the conclusion that I really didn’t like it, and that I never liked it.”
There was one thing that he knew he loved, and that was dogs. Every day before work, Bernstein dropped Frannie off at Downtown Dogs, a daycare and boarding center for dogs that was a bright spot in his day. After one particularly stressful work meeting, Bernstein called the owner of Downtown Dogs and asked if they’d be willing to sell it.
The answer was yes.
Years later after leaving the dog-eat-dog corporate world and successfully running Downtown Dogs, Bernstein wanted to expand the business. While researching next steps, Bernstein discovered that do-it-yourself dog baths were gaining in popularity, which led to the creation of Dog’s Day Out: a salon dedicated to furry friends.
Opening a business during a pandemic may not be ideal, but the dog salon is modeled with spaced-out facilities, customers who can help themselves, and high ceilings. They also have a ‘fetch and retrieve service’ for pet owners who want their pups professionally groomed, but don’t feel comfortable entering the building.
Bernstein worked with Cy Winship, a Minneapolis designer and former host of the HGTV show “Decorating Cents,” to design the space in a way that would appeal to humans as well as dogs.
While planning, Bernstein asked Winship to remember to keep the dog’s eye level in mind, and to design something that they would like. He wanted it to be a happy place for dogs. Winship, a fellow dog lover with a dachshund tattoo on his arm, was happy to oblige.
“That kind of sparked my idea,” Winship says. “He loved when I came to him and said, ‘Why don’t we try to design it if we imagine how a dog would design it? What things would a dog like to see?’”
One of the first things that they came up with were giant murals, stretching across the walls, all the way down to the floor where the dogs can see them easily. The largest mural is a wide open field with a blue sky and clouds–one of them dog shaped.
“If a dog were religious, this is what a dog would worship,” Winship says about the design. There are also giant, brightly-colored fire hydrant murals near the restrooms. The crazier the idea was, the better Winship wanted to execute it.
Bernstein and Winship wanted the entire place to be dog friendly, right down to the floor. It’s made of bright blue VCT which is easy for dogs to run around on. “We wanted a sort of, romping through water kind of look,” Winship says.
One important dog-first design is the Zen Den, a private room where an owner can groom their dog alone. “There are dogs who, for any number of reasons, don’t really like to be around other dogs,” Bernstein says. “So we created a private bathing room for those dogs.”
Working at Dog’s Day Out has been one of the bright moments for Bernstein during the pandemic. There was one day where he and his wife, Abbe, were working. Customers were washing their dogs, someone was using the Zen Den, and he felt happy to see so much life.
“It felt like there was a lot of great energy, and you know since we’re feeling oftentimes so miserable, so down because of COVID, it felt really good to feel good.”
