Erik Bendiksen
Chief Dog Walker
I have been caring for dogs since 2017 when I met Maggie the Blue Heeler. Maggie's family lived down the street and traveled back and forth to NYC frequently, allowing me to grow in friendship with a dog that had endless energy. We went on hikes, played in the backyard, and surveyed the neighborhood, and still Maggie would look at me with the "what's next" look. The ability to be outside and move while spending time with a best friend motivated me to work with dogs through and beyond college. I moved to Milwaukee just over three years ago, and I'm blessed to have started my own business, catering to a wonderful group of families and dogs. Central to our work with clients' dogs is a two way street of communication. We get to know a dogs' specific tendencies, and triggers, and then work to establish a baseline care routine that fits that dog and their family's needs. This may or may not include socialization with other dogs, and off-leash time.
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While GOTD does not currently offer obedience or agility training, we are happy to incorporate on and off-leash skills, recall, positive affirmation training as well as work on any specific behavior your dog is working on.
Hannah Bendiksen
Illustrator, Full Service Dog Support
My sister, Hannah, has been with Garden of the Dogs since its inception. In fact, she inspired me to move to Milwaukee. She has provided endless support to the business and dogs, including illustrating our cards, marketing media, and branding. Hannah is also a dog sitter, walker, and dog taxi driver. She is well versed in the needs and demands of our core clients, and her flexible day job allows her to cover walks/services as needed.
Arjun grew up with a labrador, Boco. They quickly bonded and Boco became a staple of Arjun's family home in Davenport. After moving away from home and and only seeing Boco on visits, he recognized the dog energy was missing. Moving to Milwaukee in 2022, he quickly burst onto the scene through Wag, and has since joined the Garden of the Dogs to help support our network of families. In just under two years he has completed over 350 walks. Arjun supports his own clientele as well as filling in for the Garden of the Dogs.
Arjun Salgado-Westman
Full Service Dog Support
