We knew they would write an article but had no idea it would be featured on the front page. This is pretty damn cool because I immigrated here from the US a few years ago. It’s been a relatively tough transition at times. It’s hard to start a company in a country with four national languages, none of them English.

But my wife and I persisted, inspired by my adventures with old Thunder dog. Thunder passed away this summer after 16 years, 32 countries together, most of the US states, multiple trans-continental motorcycle journeys, breaking horses, riding mustangs into the sunset, falling in and out of love here and there. He was always by my side… everywhere. I didn’t know how to be without my dog. My whole adult life was shaped by a sense of identity as "the guy with that dog" or something like that. Fuck, it was horrible. And I didn’t want another dog anytime soon.

But we met a family nearby who had found these two tiny puppies living under a cactus in Calabria, Italy. We took them in to "foster." Suffice it to say it was a foster fail. And now they found their forever home with us. Maybe Thunder had a hand to play in all of that, who knows. The article is about the first company I founded when I moved to Switzerland: DOGPAK Outdoor Gear for Dogs. We aired on the show Die Höhle Der Löwen in September. But to be honest, it’s been a struggle. So recently I founded VetDex too, an app to consolidate our animals’ health and diet records into one place. It’s brand new.

I’m grateful for this. I love Switzerland. I bi nöd hier gbore abr miis hertz ghört da he. So maybe this is a sign of better things to come. Or maybe not. But either way, I think it’s kinda cool.

https://i.redd.it/0wena0os986g1.jpeg

Posted by theDOGPAK

13 Comments

  1. Pleasant-Carbon on

    I bet they’re real good pups. They look like really good pups. 

    Congratulations! 

  2. CaughtALiteSneez on

    So cool! Thanks for sharing your story & it sounds like Thunder lived the best life a dog could ever live.

    Fellow American immigrant here who also has an outdoorsy dog, I will checkout your gear.

  3. Goppenstein1525 on

    sent this to a canadian friend of mine who is a passionate dogowner. he says the ”camelback” water bags are used since a long time in the north. seems very smart