Wallingford yoga with adoptable puppies raises funds for Dog Star Rescue

A $35 mat-and-puppies yoga session brought beginner-friendly stretching to Baseline Regenerative in Wallingford, with adoptable puppies on hand and the rescue supplying the dogs. The setup was simple enough to explain in one breath: bring a mat, settle in at 216 Center St., and spend a morning relaxing the mind, stretching the body and getting dog kisses.

The class was scheduled for Sunday, May 3, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., and it fit the kind of dog yoga format that has become easy to spot in local calendars. Dog Star Rescue billed the Wallingford event as part of a quarterly yoga-with-dogs series led by Zen Paws & Practice, and the rescue also had another session listed for May 17 in Bloomfield. That made the Wallingford class feel less like a one-off stunt and more like a recurring fundraiser built around the same appeal: wellness first, puppies close behind.

Dog Star Rescue sits at the center of that pitch. The Bloomfield-based nonprofit says it is a private 501(c)(3) organization that relies completely on private donations and fundraising to operate. It says it was founded in 2014, moved into its Bloomfield headquarters in 2017, and has placed more than 8,000 rescued dogs into loving homes. The rescue also describes itself as the largest all-volunteer rescue in Connecticut, a scale that gives the puppy yoga morning a bigger purpose than a feel-good class alone.

The adoption side matters just as much. Dog Star Rescue says its dogs are fostered in homes or boarding facilities in Connecticut, new adoptable dogs arrive weekly, and the lineup includes puppies, young dogs, adult dogs and many breed mixes. Adoption fees vary by age, but they include vaccinations, deworming, vetting and transport when applicable. The yoga class put that mission in motion by putting adoptable puppies in front of attendees before the day moved on.

Baseline Regenerative added the local setting that made the event feel distinctly Wallingford. The studio describes itself as Wallingford’s first infrared hot yoga studio, and it offers heated and non-heated classes for every level. For Dog Star Rescue, that meant a public-facing fundraiser in a recognizable neighborhood space, one that connected a small donation to direct support for a volunteer-run rescue with a long placement record and a steady flow of new dogs waiting for homes.