MILWAUKEE — Two dogs at a Milwaukee hotel might be some of the most famous to ever work at a Hilton hotel. Although work might be putting it a little too formally, since they just play fetch, get belly rubs, and eat lots of treats.
Millie, 10, and Sadie, 4, have been coming to the Hilton Milwaukee with their owner and hotel concierge Rusty Dahler, five days a week for years.
“But they can’t replicate these two. Other hotels have tried, and I’ll tell you, no one even comes close," Melissa Lukic, the director of rooms at the Hilton Milwaukee, said about Millie and Sadie.
Millie and Sadie run around like they own the place. Maybe that's cause there is a mat that says it’s their hotel.
“Doggy dopamine, serotonin. It’s like it brings all the positivity out of everyone here," Dave Hawkins, the carpenter at Hilton Milwaukee, said.
Millie and Saide are loved by everyone.
“The very first night I met her, I was holding her like this, and she ran around, bit my nose, and I always said it’s been love at first bite," Dawn Ziolkowski, at the Hilton Milwaukee, said.
It all started about 10 years ago. Rusty had the idea to bring a dog into the hotel. There was the obvious pushback, but he didn’t give up. Good thing he didn’t. Millie and, eventually, Sadie, have impacted guests in more ways than could ever be imagined.
“And me bringing the dogs initially was insignificant ’cause what is that? And yet, countless times, people coming in saying, I was in my car crying, and now I’m better," Rusty Dahler, Millie and Sadie's owner, said.
These two dogs have charmed their way into the hearts of countless guests, from across the country and the world.
“It just doesn’t seem real some days," Dahler said.
But unfortunately, Millie and Sadie's run as one of the most popular doggy duos at any Hilton in the world is coming to an end. Millie, Sadie, and Dahler are moving to Ohio. They will only be at the Hilton for about two more weeks.
Watch the video to see more of Millie and Sadie...
“Millie, now she’s 10, so she’s ready to retire. I mean, she’s done it for a long time, so I’m ready to give her that chance. Sadie will have to find something to keep her busy," Dahler said.
Soon, the hotel won’t have eight furry paws racing around the lobby, there won’t be as many treats given out, and things will be quiet. Not just because Millie and Sadie will be gone. But Rusty too.
“You can’t replicate Rusty. You can’t replicate Rusty, so you can’t replicate the dog program," Ziolkowski said.
Because it’s not just about bringing a dog to work, and to be clear, Millie and Sadie are no average dogs, but it’s who brought them.
“What Rusty created, it’s like catching lightning in a bottle. It happens once, probably never happens again," Jeffrey Johnikin said.
Dahler will be the first to say bringing your dogs to work every day is hard. But he doesn’t do it for himself. He does it to bring joy to everyone else.
“It’s been a long and faithful journey, and I think we did it well, so I take solace in that," Dahler said.
So when Dahler walks down the exit hallway one last time, he, Sadie and Millie can hold their heads high, knowing they made a difference in thousands of people’s lives.
Go to this link to help Rusty Dahler build a fence around his home in Ohio to give Millie and Sadie a place to play safely.
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