Enjoy a craft beer while watching your pup play

Rich Palzewic

Staff

February 23, 2026

APPLETON – Owner Carol West said the first thing visitors notice when they enter Fetch, play + sip in Appleton is dogs happily barking and playing.

Secondly, she said, they’ll hear the hiss of a beer tap.

West said the facility – located at 1237 N. Lynndale Drive in Appleton – is first and foremost an indoor dog park.

“I always put a big emphasis on the fact that there are some bars that allow dogs, and there are also some restaurants that allow dogs on their patio,” she said. “I am a dog park that just so happens to have beer. That is a very clear distinction for me.”

West said the way Fetch is set up and the atmosphere it provides make it “one of a kind in the area.”

“That’s why I always make the distinction that we are a dog park first,” she said. “When you walk into Fetch and tour the facility, you can tell everything is dog-focused. The recreation space is completely wide open, dogs are playing supervised and we always have a trainer on staff. What I was really trying to recreate with Fetch is basically an outdoor dog park but with a roof overhead.”

‘A slick system’

After speaking with several local municipalities, West said she knew serving food at Fetch would not be an option.

Being in Wisconsin, she said offering beer felt like the perfect alternative.

“We have eight self-pour taps – which include beers from Fox Valley breweries – that are paid for by the ounce,” she said. 

As she curated the tap lineup, West said she was surprised by how many craft breweries there are throughout the Fox Valley.

“I currently have brews on tap from Lion’s Tail [Brewing Company] in Neenah, McFleshman’s [Brewing Company] in Appleton and Appleton Beer Factory,” she said. “Initially, I thought maybe I’d do cans or something – kind of a grab-and-go where there would truly be a bar and a bartender.”

However, after visiting her sister in the Twin Cities, West said she changed her mind.

“We went to a place where they must have had 40 self-pour taps,” she said. “Think of it like having a gift card that is connected to your credit card. You only pay for what you pour. It’s a slick system, and I think people are liking it. Patrons can choose half a glass, a full glass or other options.”

West said Fetch also has non-alcoholic options like mocktails, cold brew coffee and sodas.

“Most of those are sourced from Wisconsin creators,” she said.

Dog park elements

West said Fetch’s indoor dog park is built around three key elements, the most unique being what she calls “stay and play.”

“For stay and play, you’re going to stay with your dog while he or she plays,” she said. “Some people have beers, but obviously, some don’t. People come throughout the day – whether it’s a remote worker or someone who is retired.”

The next element, West said, is the daycare side.

“That’s where you drop your dog off in the morning and pick it up in the evening,” she said.

Lastly, West said, is the boarding services.

“The thing that makes me fairly unique on the boarding side is that daycare is always included in your boarding price,” she said. “Dogs deserve to be out exercising, playing and socializing – especially when they’re away from everything familiar to them. Extra love, one-on-one snuggles and reassurance are just part of the job and never come with an added fee.”

According to fetchplaysip.com, Fetch also provides regular updates throughout your dog’s stay via the Paw Partner app, where owners can see photos of their pup while they’re at the facility – all included in the boarding fee.

“I currently have 14 kennels available for boarding,” she said.

West said she loves how connected people at Fetch have become.

“Dog people are weird,” she laughed. “We start striking up conversations with other dog owners. Within the first week of opening, I was folding T-shirts on the front table and saw these two couples – who didn’t know each other beforehand – having a conversation. I heard them exchanging phone numbers so they could meet up another time at Fetch. I was almost in tears because this is exactly what I wanted.”

A vision years in the making

West said the idea for Fetch dates back to around 2008, when she first began thinking the concept could work.

Looking back, she said she was fresh out of college and a bit naïve at the time.

“I didn’t have two pennies to rub together,” she laughed. “I’ve had great mentors along the way. Somebody at Community First Credit Union talked to me about what I needed to do to get things started. He thought it was a great idea, but I needed a business plan, a financial plan and a budget.”

West said her family has also offered a lot of support along the way.

“My brother, who owns Jacobs Meat Market, has been a huge influencer in this whole thing,” she said. “He helped me narrow down my budget, where I should and shouldn’t be spending more money and figure out how many employees I needed. My sister in the Twin Cities has also been a huge supporter.”

West said she has increasingly realized how important family is throughout an entrepreneurial journey.

“My family is huge, and everybody has been super supportive every step of the way,” she said. “I don’t know how anybody could open a brick-and-mortar business without an amazingly supportive family – it’s been huge for me.”

West said she got more serious about the possibility of opening Fetch prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Obviously, COVID put the kibosh on things,” she said. “You weren’t going to create a social environment business during COVID, so I hit the brakes for a little while. Sometime in 2023, I started looking at properties and getting my SBA (Small Business Administration) loan information squared away.”

Then, about a year ago, West said she found the “perfect location” on N. Lynndale Drive.

“We got all of our funding lined up, and the rest is history,” she said. “It was an existing building, so it worked out perfectly. I think the first business in here was a car wash, so it was mostly open garages. It already had drainage in the floor – I basically had to put lipstick on it.”

West said the majority of the preparation work focused on the lobby.

Loving the combination

West said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

Before officially opening Nov. 1, 2025, she said Fetch hosted a meet-and-greet for interested community members to tour the facility.

“We probably had 60 to 100 people who already had accounts on opening day,” she said. “They could immediately come in and have their dogs start playing. Now, I have more than 600 accounts. Daycare has been growing month over month, and boarding is growing, too. My office is right behind the front desk, so I love it when people come in and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, this place is so cool.’”

Though Fetch has 600-plus accounts, West said that “obviously” doesn’t mean every person/dog comes in daily.

“With our recent cold snaps, we’ve definitely seen an uptick, which is the whole point, right?” she said. “When it’s colder weather, you still have a place to go inside to run your dog. On a recent day, we hit capacity for daycare dogs.”

West said it’s worth mentioning that Fetch intentionally keeps its daycare pack size small.

“There are some places that will just take as many dogs as they can possibly cram in,” she said. “We only allow 15 dogs for daycare, and I’m going to keep it that way. If we want more dogs in daycare, I’ll put them in a separate area where they can have their own trainer. I don’t want to overwhelm my staff. I also don’t want dogs to be overrun with other dogs. Then they can’t truly exercise like they’re supposed to when they’re here.”

When asked if participation at Fetch will always be weather-dependent, West said it’s too soon to tell.

“I won’t know until I know,” she laughed. “During the springtime with mud and rain outside, I’m still thinking Fetch will be busy. With spring breaks, I’m sure there will be an uptick in boarding. I’m not worried about between now and basically that spring break season.”

Looking to the summer months, West said she’s not sure what to expect.

“I’m leaning a lot into hosting events, because I’m trying to build a dog community,” she said. “I’ve hosted adoption events and recently put something out on social media advertising a singles event where people bring in their dogs and meet other people.”

During the warmer months, West said she feels it’s important to focus on creating unique events for your dog.

“Having said that, Fetch also has air conditioning for when it gets hot outside,” she said. “Just because it won’t be cold outside, that doesn’t mean every day [in Wisconsin’s outdoors] is ideal for you to get your dog some exercise. We’re also thinking about putting a bubble machine and some pools outside, and then the dogs can run through all the bubbles and jump in the water.”

Another option for Fetch patrons, West said, is the party room.

“We’ve had a couple of people who have hosted their dog’s birthday party here,” she said. “They bring in their dog friends and set up a whole party. They get their dog a cake and let them go to town. As part of that experience, they also get some time to play in the recreational room.”

Another idea in the works, West said, is partnering with Fox Valley’s local pet rescues.

“I need to find the first person to take advantage of it and for the stars to align, but I’d love to do a kid’s birthday party here and bring in puppies from a local rescue to play with,” she said. “I’ve got some great rescue partners from the Fox Valley. If that’s not a million-dollar idea, I don’t know what is.”

Hours for Fetch are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday (or until the last daycare dog leaves), from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 

For more on Fetch, play + sip, visit the aforementioned website or its Facebook page.