Furry friends: Saskatoon ice cream shop serving dogs

By Halyna Mihalik

Looking to help your four-legged friend cool down this summer?

A Saskatoon-based ice cream shop is catering to humans — and dogs. Crunchy Dog Ice Cream is treating dogs to Milkbone ice cream.

“We just wanted to make it a dog-friendly place,” said co-owner Maria Stankowski. “People walk their dogs all the time and we thought, ‘Why not have them come and give them a treat too?’ ”

After running an ice cream shop at Candle Lake for almost a decade, Stankowski and her husband weren’t sure what they wanted to do after moving to the city.

They decided to create a shop in Saskatoon out of love for their own dog, Carbon. They wanted dogs in the neighbourhood to feel appreciated too.

When people buy a treat for themselves, their pup will get a free ice cream.

“We just wanted to welcome them and give them free treats. They’re special,” said Stankowski. “The owners come here and buy ice cream so the dogs definitely deserve a free treat.”

Stankowski says the shop has also seen people bring in cats, and even a parrot.

The shop is located on Avenue I North. Stankowski chose this spot after researching it and finding that it was one of the more dog-populated areas in Saskatoon.

“We know this neighbourhood has a lot of dogs,” said Stankowski. “We heard it had the most dogs per capita so we thought, ‘What a great idea to start serving dogs and people.’ ”