Dogs Scream for Ice Cream: Mixed Mutt Creamery located in the Crossroads offers dog-safe treats for your furry friends

It’s safe to say that nothing cures my bad days better than spending time with my dog, Holly. I love taking her to Starbucks to treat her to a pup cup or bringing her along when I make a late night trip to Andy’s Frozen Custard.

I decided that the best way to celebrate the end of first quarter was treating Holly and myself to an ice cream run. But instead of doing our typical drive-thru experience, I decided to go a place that had treats for both of us. After hearing about Mixed Mutt Creamery, an artisan ice cream shop that makes treats for dogs and their owners, I grabbed Holly and headed to the Crossroads.

The walls of the store were stacked with tons of dog goodies, from treats to chew toys. Holly yanked me with her, stopping to sniff every last corner. I had to pull her away from the prepackaged goodies to get to what we truly came for: the ice cream.

When I first looked at the freezers, I couldn’t tell which ice cream was for dogs and which was for myself. But after seeing flavor names like “Pawsitively Pumpkin” and “Barking Maple Bacon” inside of one freezer, I got the difference. I picked out two ice creams for Holly, along with some pineapple upside down ice cream and a Shatto ice cream sandwich for myself.

After much anticipation and more sniffing from Holly, it was time to dig in. The dog ice cream was basically frozen solid when I opened the container, so I took a minute to let it thaw out.

I decided to first try my Shatto ice cream sandwich. I love anything strawberry flavored, so two soft vanilla cookies filled with strawberry ice cream sounded like a perfect fit for me. Just two bites in, I realized I made the right call. The strong strawberry flavor was balanced out with the vanilla cookies. The ice cream sandwich was the perfect size and not too overwhelming — allowing me to finish all of it without any melting or stomachaches.

When I saw Holly begging for a bite of my ice cream, I realized it was probably time to let her try her own. I tried my best to pick out flavors that Holly would like. From the times I’ve snuck her strawberries under the kitchen table, I’ve discovered she’s not the biggest fan of fruit. That said, I figured it would be best to stay away from flavors like “Blueberry Yum Yum.” After much contemplating, I decided on “Beer, Cheese & Bacon” and “Barking in the City.”

I immediately gagged at the smell of “Beer, Cheese & Bacon” as I opened it up. But after seeing Holly’s tail wagging, I put the smell of cheese and dog food aside and set the ice cream down for her to try.

Eyes wide and mouth drooling, she dug right in, taking advantage of every last bite. Reading the container, I saw things like “No dyes,” “No dairy” and “All natural ingredients.” I was happy to see that this sweet treat wouldn’t upset her stomach later on.

While she was eating, I switched to my pineapple upside down ice cream. I immediately loved the strong pineapple flavor. However, it didn’t pair well with the chocolate chips that were hidden throughout the ice cream and I got sick of the flavor pretty quickly. Since they only sell human ice cream in pints, it left me perplexed wondering how I was supposed to be able to down it all on my own — needless to say I had leftovers to share with my parents. This ice cream would probably be best if you brought a few others to share.

As Holly continued to eat her ice cream, I figured it was time to switch it up. I let her try “Barking in the City,” a vanilla-like base infused with bacon. This one definitely had a more pleasant smell, but Holly wasn’t a big fan. She was more hesitant to try it — taking only a few bites before heading back to the “Beer, Cheese & Bacon.”

The dog ice cream seemed to be the perfect size — not too big, but definitely a step up from the whipped cream in a plastic cup that I normally treat her to at Starbucks. However, getting two ice creams definitely seemed like overkill because Holly only ended up finishing one of the flavors.

Despite the far drive, Holly and I definitely had an enjoyable outing. It was the perfect way to treat ourselves on a “doggie date” and I could definitely see us making another trip back here in the future.