The Farmer’s Dog and Park-9 Fenway Helped Puppies Slide Into Their Forever Homes  

For more than a century, Bostonians have spent blissful summer afternoons in the Fenway neighborhood under clear, blue skies, watching the action on a baseball diamond. But September 13 may have been the first time the players on the field were puppies.

On that day, the Fenway outpost of Park-9—New England’s first-ever combination dog park and human bar—welcomed a whole team of adoptable puppies from Sweet Paws Rescue (SPR) to a pint-sized baseball diamond. 

We’re not positive which puppies “won” the “game” (or what the “game” officially was), but we know the real winners were the people who got to spend quality time with some very good dogs that day. We couldn’t imagine a more fun way to enjoy a late-summer afternoon.

“The Farmer’s Dog has partnered with us here in our Fenway location to bring a really unique experience to the dog parents of Boston,” Emily Gusse, the co-founder of Park-9 said at the September 13 event.

At the “Puppies in the Outfield” event, the adoptable dogs ran, leapt, and chased, and one all-star named Fresca found her forever home. Her new family will enjoy a free first box of The Farmer’s Dog food, and $350 toward future orders. Plus, suggested donations to enter Park-9 and all proceeds from concessions benefited SPR, a New England–based rescue.

Besides adoptable puppies and the chance to support a fantastic cause, the event also featured free nail trims for all canine attendees courtesy of the Woofie’s van, plus custom-embroidered bandanas from us, The Farmer’s Dog.

Now is a wonderful time to adopt a dog in New England (or anywhere!), according to Anna Lyons, an SPR volunteer and foster. “We have a real local dog crisis here in Massachusetts currently with dogs being surrendered, abandoned, [and with] strays. We’re taking in probably at least three dogs a week now as just stray dogs, not even including surrenders.”

Sweet Paws Rescue has largely been a foster-based rescue since its inception—they’ve helped over 22,000 animals in that time—and now they’ve purchased a 20-acre farm in Boxley, Massachusetts to expand their work saving animals. The donations collected at Park-9 will go to those expansion efforts. 

“We’re going to have a vet clinic, and we’re going to have educational programs. There [are] trails. It’s just going to be such a great outlet to utilize to help save more animals in the area,” Lyons said. 

If you missed the fun, good news: there are still many puppies available for adoption. Get to know them over at Sweet Paws Rescue’s site. And to make a baseball card for your own designated critter, head to Park-9 and follow their nose to The Farmer’s Dog installation. It’s open through the end of October.