Puppy Love Party Celebrates 10 Years of Bringing Joy to Workplaces (and Finding Puppies Their Forever Homes)

Ten years ago, Sabrina Freed had an idea: what if companies could give their teams something they’d actually enjoy instead of another forgettable corporate event?

That idea became Puppy Love Party, and a decade later, it’s become the employee appreciation experience companies keep coming back to. Over 650 companies across Northern California, Southern California, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC have hosted Puppy Love Party events. Half of them book again. And more than 200 rescue puppies have found forever homes because of it.

Before founding Puppy Love Party in 2016, Sabrina spent 25+ years producing B2B and internal corporate events. She knew what worked and what didn’t. And she knew one thing for sure: people don’t remember the agenda. They remember how something made them feel.

“I wanted to create something that delivered real joy, human connections and giving back to the community, not just another checkbox event,” Sabrina said. “Turns out, puppies do that better than anything else.”

Why It Works

The format is simple. Puppy Love Party partners with local animal rescues to bring adoptable puppies into corporate environments and trade shows. The puppies get critical early socialization. Employees get a genuine wellness break. And everyone gets to interact with adorable rescue dogs without any pressure.

The impact is immediate. Research shows that interacting with animals lowers cortisol levels, reduces stress, and increases oxytocin (the feel-good hormone that helps people connect). Companies see it in real time: stress drops, people relax, conversations happen

“From the moment the puppies arrived, the energy completely shifted,” said a People and Culture Manager at a recent event. “You could feel the stress melt away. It was one of the most impactful things we’ve ever done for our team. They can’t stop asking when we can have the puppies again.”

Unlike traditional team-building activities, there’s nothing forced about it. People just… connect. They laugh, they relax, they actually enjoy being there. And attendance rates are consistently higher than other corporate events because it’s something employees genuinely want to do.

The Adoption Story That Started It All

One story still stands out after all these years.

At a three-day conference, a small puppy wandered into the event space and immediately climbed into one woman’s lap. She came back to visit him every single day. By the end of the conference, she knew: he was coming home with her.

The only complication? She lived on the East Coast, and the puppy wasn’t yet ready to go home. Still, some things are worth the wait. Just a few days after returning home, she boarded another flight, determined to bring him back where he belonged.

But the story didn’t end there. A month later, remembering the bond she had witnessed among the puppies and the joy her new companion brought into her life, she flew back once more, this time to adopt a second puppy. Watching the two of them together, it was clear: this wasn’t coincidence, it was meant to be.

A month after that, she flew back again. This time, she adopted his sibling too.

“That’s the kind of thing that happens more often than you’d think,” Sabrina said. “When people meet these puppies in a relaxed, joyful setting, the connection is real.”

What’s Next

Puppy Love Party now offers two main services: trade show activations that turn booths into the most popular stop on the floor, and corporate wellness experiences including employee appreciation events, stress-relief pop-ups, and team-building moments that actually work.

The company is expanding into new markets and exploring license opportunities for people who want to bring the same experience to their own cities.

After 10 years, the mission hasn’t changed: create joy, support rescue organizations, and give employees something worth showing up for.

For more information, contact Sabrina Freed at sabrina@puppyloveparty.com.