When in Oconto, keep your eyes peeled for a white school bus with black paw prints on the sides. If you get a look inside, you might be surprised by what you see.
It won’t be children on their way to school — instead, you’ll see dogs of all breeds and sizes on their way to and from a private dog park. It’s called the K9 Konvoy.
Owner Hope Mehlberg picks up her furry customers from their homes and takes packs of more than 20 at a time to go run themselves ragged for two hours.
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In 2023, Mehlberg began posting videos so owners could see their dogs interacting and playing with one another. And she saw that other doggy day cares, and even other dog buses, were posting online, too.

“I thought, ‘I’m already taking the videos to share with my clients. Why not?’” Mehlberg told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “So I started sharing and we went viral on TikTok. And it’s been a crazy ride ever since then.”
The dogs have since amassed a loyal following on social media. Videos of the K9 Konvoy have tens of millions of views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Mehlberg says she loves seeing the joy that the dogs bring to people all over the world.
“It’s bringing people together in the simplest way. It’s just… dogs on a bus,” Mehlberg said. “It’s the simplicity of the animals interacting and getting along with each other. It shows us as human beings that it’s not that hard to get along, enjoy the moment and enjoy the time that you have.”
Mehlberg joined “Wisconsin Today” for a closer look at the K9 Konvoy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Kate Archer Kent: How did this whole endeavor start, and eventually become the K9 Konvoy?
Hope Mehlberg: I was going through some things — personally, mentally, emotionally. So I thought [I should] get outside and get some fresh air and exercise. I started walking my own personal dogs, and then I slowly brought in my family’s dogs.
Zeppelin was my first official pack dog. It wasn’t a happy start. He was actually hit by a vehicle in front of my house, and I ended up finding him. Long story short, I said to his mom, “Hey, if he pulls through, he can join my pack.” And then it snowballed from there and I started collecting more dogs along the way.
I really enjoyed what I was doing. It was exactly what I needed at that time.

KAK: Where do you take the dogs and what are they doing during playtime?
HM: It’s my parents’ property. I took 3 acres of the back property and created our own private dog park. It’s all fenced in. We are out there for two hours during the day, weather dependent.
They get to do whatever they please when they’re out there. I have tire swings, and there’s a bunch of different versions of balls out there for them to play with. They love to play tug of war. Some of them like to just lay around and sunbathe. Some of them play with each other.
It’s just like your typical school day. Each one has their own personality, and each one has their different thing that they want to do.




Dogs can play with tires and balls, dig holes and get muddy at the park. Photos courtesy K9 Konvoy
KAK: Have you noticed any transformations in these dogs, whether it’s in their personality or their disposition, since they’ve started coming?
HM: It definitely changes them, mainly for the good. It’s about socializing with other dogs. Because in my little town, we don’t have any doggy day care or anything like that. Not like the bigger cities where owners are able to go drop off their dogs to socialize. So this is a nice little outlet for people in our small community to get their dogs out and get them playing with each other.
KAK: How do the dogs create a community amongst themselves? How do they build those bonds?
HM: It’s a pack, so there is a pecking order — there’s an alpha all the way down. For the most part, they all get along. They know what I expect of them when we’re out there, so they mainly are on their best behavior.
Once in a while, I’ll have puppies who are overly energetic and they don’t want to get back on the bus and stuff like that. But overall, they do get along very well. They have all that pent up energy that they need to get out. When the bus pulls up, they’re ready to go. It’s playtime.


Dogs play with, and sometimes ambush, one another at the K9 Konvoy park. Photos courtesy K9 Konvoy
KAK: When the dogs get back on the bus, they line up like kids do. How did you get them to do that?
HM: That’s just routine training and repetition. I give them a command like, “OK, it’s time to go home.” And they all know it’s time to head up to the water station. They get their drinks of water, they kind of lay around for a good five minutes and then we’re ready to load up in the bus.
The training took me a while. With my original group that I started with, when I first started getting them trained up, it was kind of a task. But now, anytime I bring in a new dog, they just follow the pack. Dogs are very pack-oriented. They follow the leader and think, “OK, this is where we’re going for the day.”

KAK: It’s as if the pack trains itself. Once they see the others doing things, they fall into line?
HM: They do. They correct each other. I get a lot of questions about if there’s any dog fights. And no, [there’s] nothing severe like people are thinking. But they do correct each other when the behavior is not appropriate.
There’s senior dogs and there’s younger dogs, so a puppy will learn that if a dog doesn’t want to play, they’ll give them either a growl or a little snip. Then they know that they’re not going to play with them.
KAK: Are there any fan-favorite dogs online, ones that are especially popular?
HM: The most popular one that we’ve had is Macaroni. It’s actually pretty funny, because his mom even says he’s nothing special. He’s a little blue heeler mix. He’s kind of a lazy couch potato at home. The fact that everyone fell in love with him is just hilarious to the both of us, because he’s just kind of… there. He goes because his other three brothers go. He plays a little bit. He’s obviously got friends in the pack that he likes to play with.
I think it’s mainly because he’s surrounded by all the big dogs in the back, and he’s just this tiny little thing. … And the online community enjoys that Macaroni goes to his exact same seat every single day.


Left: Fan-favorite Macaroni sits in the back of the bus. Right: Another fan-favorite, Lucy Lu, and Macaroni at the park. Photos courtesy K9 Konvoy
KAK: You’re surrounded by these dogs who can pick up on things emotionally. They know you and they trust you. What is that like?
HM: The biggest moment recently was — unfortunately, we lost one of my dogs. I had two dogs. It’s been about three months since we lost our baby boy, Teddy. And the dogs do pick up on that. When I was going through that, the dogs helped me push through. Going back to work was hard, because Teddy would go with me and he was on the bus with me every single day.
So the first couple weeks were very hard. But when I would pick up the dogs, they would give me unconditional love and kisses and stuff like that, so it did help me heal. They continuously help me heal, because I’m still struggling through it. That’s why I keep going every day and I keep doing what I’m doing. Because as much as I’m helping them, they are helping me in ways they couldn’t even imagine.


Left: K9 Konvoy owner Hope Mehlberg and her husband, Shane, pose with their dogs Teddy and Dodge. Right: Dodge and Teddy sit together on the K9 Konvoy bus. Photos courtesy K9 Konvoy