VALDOSTA — There is nothing worse than hearing a mournful yelp from a lonely dog. But at Mad Dogs restaurant, these dogs won’t be lonely for long, especially if the restaurant’s hungry patrons have anything to do with it.

We’re talking hot dogs, Italian sausage, bratwurst, and the works. With more than 20 toppings to choose from, it might be hard to find the hot dog or sausage underneath all the available trimmings.

They’ll be smothered in love, the ordering customer might say.

Mad Dogs, the area’s newest gourmet hot-dog restaurant, opened in the Bemiss Plaza (Harvey’s shopping center) Saturday, March 1 at 4030-A Bemiss Road just north of town, to much local acclaim.

The restaurant building is decked out for fun, in true 1950s retro-replica decor, with black and white vinyl tile floors, red and white “memory” cushion chairs and stools, and table and countertops of turquoise swirl color to match the turquoise paint on the walls.

The decor’s “50s Sock Hop” appeal is greatly enhanced by the tunes flowing out of the eatery’s sound system. Original ‘50s music gently blares from its source on Dish Satellite. From Buddy Holly to Bobby Darin there’s nothing that makes a one scoop root beer float go down better than the fond memories evoked by Sam Cooke, for example, belting out the memorable “Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow go — straight to my lover’s heart from me.”

Owners Mary and Andrew Wardle say they’re tickled pink at the public response in the virgin days of the operation. The restaurant had been a dream of Mary Wardle’s for the past five years. Three years ago, she decided to make it happen.

“I wanted to come up with a theme that Valdosta didn’t have,” she says of her idea to open a hot dog restaurant with ‘50s decor. “The ‘50s represent fun and great memories. After deciding the food menu, that was the second decision I made. The colors and decor just all fell into place. Watching my dream come to pass before my eyes was so exciting. When I look around here, it’s like I need someone to pinch me so I’ll know this is for real and not a dream.”

She even dreamed what her employees would wear and what they would say to customers. “To see them wearing and saying what I dreamed is just surreal,” she said.

To find the retro-50s decor, Mary “Googled” an Internet search and came up with the Artista Company in Warner Robins. The firm sent her a catalogue, and she found just what she’d dreamed. She’s expecting 11 of the Artista employees to share a meal with her in the shop any day now.

Her visitors in the opening week have included a wide variety of hot dog lovers, from a local motorcycle club to Moody AFB personnel to an unusual visit from the University of South Florida’s Ultimate Frisbee team, who spied the fancy building while passing by on Bemiss.

“They said they had never eaten at a hot dog restaurant and decided to try it out,” Mary said. “They couldn’t believe that we offer so many toppings for the dogs and sausages. One even ordered macaroni and cheese on their bratwurst. Hey if we have it on the menu and you want it on your dog, we’ll do it.

“The only limit is your imagination. If you wanted the kitchen sink, I might consider it,” she added with a facetious laugh, as The Everly Brothers’ “Crying In The Rain” crooned from the satellite radio.

Husband Andrew provided the financial backing and helped Mary navigate through the tedious red tape involved with local county and city permitting processes. He also helped her oversee the contractors’ work.

Mary takes care of the day to day operations. She has plenty of experience in restaurant work, having worked for more than 20 years in the business locally with fast food restaurants, schools, Wild Adventures and Five Star Vending and Catering Service.