Tout est en vente
Tout est en vente
The search for a carrier.
Our first thought was to let her run alongside us getting valuable exercise. That worked for about a mile before she collapsed in exhaustion on the side of the road. Next, we tried putting Daisy in a regular school backpack, zipped up with her head poking out the top. Even on a short ride the zippers slipped open and put her at risk of falling to the pavement. The local pet store had a few options in the form of front carriers, side slings, rear facing carriers, and several different styles that completely enclosed the dog inside.
This began a quest spanning several years and dozens of attempts, none of which resulted in a workable solution. The front carrier bumped into our knees, jostling Daisy around. The sling threw off our balance and made one shoulder ache for days. The rear facing carrier made Daisy motion sick and from the confines of the enclosed carrier she whined and threw her weight around, unable to see who was carrying her or where she was going.
A backpack carrier was born.
One day, thinking we had tried all options, we put Daisy into a simple drawstring bag, which cinched around her torso leaving the upper half of her body exposed from the top. It wasn't the safest or most comfortable ride, but we noticed it was better than anything we had tried in the past. Daisy loved feeling the wind in her face as she rested on my shoulders.
After months of bruised shoulders from using the drawstring bag, we decided to make our own improvements. Using a sewing machine, we stitched together some cloth bought from the local fabric store and sewed on some old shoulder straps from an old school bag to create the very first version of a K9 Sport Sack. From the first ride, it was a dream. We finally had a carrier that met our standards of comfort, security, and balance.
Gaining courage to start a business.
For the next three years life happened. Graduate degrees, the beginning of stable careers, and adding 2 1/2 kids to our family. While still using our original prototype we finally gained the courage to send our bag to a professional prototypist and place a small production run of 100 bags to debut at a local pet show in Las Vegas. Nervously I rode around the show on my bike with Daisy on my back. We sold a few bags, then to my astonishment by the early afternoon every bag was sold out and we were frantically taking backorders and trying to figure out how to get more bags.
At K9 Sport Sack, no dog is left behind.
As our customers increased, the feedback rushed in and with new feedback K9 Sport Sack evolved from a simple prototype to one of the most versatile and interactive pet carriers ever.
It's very apparent that pet owners have done far more for us than we have for them. Although it would take a lifetime, we maintain a goal to give back as much as we can. Thank you for including us in your world and for enriching ours in turn.