When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or if youre Bird Rock resident Vikki Oliver, when the COVID-19 pandemic gives you extra fabric, make dog bandanas.

Oliver recently opened a “dog bar” in front of her house for her pet-owning neighbors, stocked with treats, a water bowl, decorations and now bandanas.

Oliver previously lived in Pacific Beach for 40 years and saw this as an opportunity to connect with her new community.

“I was just having a hard time meeting neighbors and I thought, ‘Well, I think I’ll just start the little dog bar,’” said Oliver, who opened it in August. “And it’s been great. So many people have come by. I wasn’t satisfied with just having dog treats — I had to make bandanas for all the dogs.”

The bandanas have become a hit, and Oliver has made nearly 50 of them by hand since she opened the stand — recently at a rate of seven per day.

The bandanas were possible because of leftover fabric she previously used to make COVID masks. She said she has given away more than 250 masks since the beginning of the pandemic.

Alongside the dog bar’s assortment of treats and trinkets, Oliver has a sign-up sheet where people can write their dog’s name, whether it’s male or female and what size bandana it needs. She checks the bar several times a day to refill treats and take note of requests. Her most recent endeavor was making Halloween-themed bandanas this month.

Vikki Olivers dog bar includes decorations, a sign-up sheet for bandanas and an assortment of treats. (Noah Lyons)

Bandana orders are available for pickup from Vikki Olivers dog bar within one to three days. (Noah Lyons)

Neighbors, even those without dogs, often leave notes for Vikki Oliver on her bandana sign-up sheet. (Noah Lyons)

Vikki Oliver has a bandana-making station in her home with fabric and machinery. (Noah Lyons)

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Vikki Olivers dog bar includes decorations, a sign-up sheet for bandanas and an assortment of treats. (Noah Lyons)

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The dog bar has no strings attached. Oliver offers the bandanas for free and typically has them ready for pickup in one to three days.

She had two key reasons for offering the service to her neighbors, she said.

“I don’t think people have any cash on them while they’re walking their dogs,” Oliver said. “And [making the bandanas] is nothing to me.”

Each bandana takes about five minutes to make, she said.

“I’m not fooling myself that I could make a dress or anything,” she joked. “Those bandanas are super easy.”

While the dog bar is free, Oliver’s project is not a one-sided deal. She retired five years ago after working for 50 years in the health care industry. Maintaining the dog bar has been a welcome hobby after retiring and has led to many conversations with neighbors she hadnt met before, she said.

The human connection stands out to Oliver, but it’s often the dogs that initiate the interaction.

“A lot of people tell me their dogs guide them here when they’re out walking,” Oliver said.

Oliver is a dog owner herself, having taken in Harley Quinn, a Yorkie and schnauzer mix, more than six years ago. Harley was found wandering the streets of Ensenada in Baja California before she was rescued by Oliver’s friend Brian Bovenzi, founder and chief executive of We Saved a Puppy, a San Diego-based organization that provides care for stray animals, largely in Tijuana.

Oliver places pamphlets for Bovenzi’s organization alongside the treats and bandana sign-up sheet and is a bookkeeper for the group.

Oliver isnt ending her community-building efforts with the dog bar. Her next endeavor is selling treats for humans. The former professional baker and cooking instructor plans to offer holiday goodies for sale in front of her house.