Whyld River was founded in November of 2017 by Rachel (that's me!) and my rescue dog River.
River is the inspiration and the driving force behind the Whyld River brand.
River is a rescue dog that I adopted in 2015. I was just grabbing lunch one day when I met him at an adoption drive. He gave me one hug and that was it! I was in love and we've been together ever since.
As many of my fellow rescue dog mommy's might know, when I first got River he was scared of his own shadow. For no reason at all he would wind up a shaking mess in my arms from small interactions with sounds, people, and other dogs.
However, when I began taking River on adventures with me outdoors he became a totally different dog! Outside of all the scary noises of city living he would be a free, confident, and energetic puppy! Gone was the shaking mess and what emerged was the loving and carefree dog I know so well.
So River and I began going on more and more outdoor adventures together. We started trail-running and hiking, but we eventually moved on to backpacking. As River is a 30-pound skinny boy (no matter how many steak bites I feed him!) I brought along a huge old sleeping bag for him to curl up in. That sleeping bag saved me, but he still escaped one of our first trips shivering so badly that I was afraid he'd gotten hypothermia! I had to find a better solution!
So, luckily at the time I was a graduate student in an amazing Sports Product Management Program through the University of Oregon and with the skills I had obtained through the program I went to work in our lab crafting the perfect lightweight backpacking sleeping bag.
I brought my new creation on the trail with us and it worked like a charm! I thought to myself: "maybe I'm not the only one who needs the perfect doggy sleeping bag". So I perfected my design and started talking to people in my community in Portland, OR.
The response I got was fantastic! So amazing in fact that I am currently working on getting the perfect prototype designed and launched on Kickstarter in April of 2018.
This has been a fun and exciting journey for me and River, but I would like to make it about more than just the two of us.
Whyld River is intended to be for every dog lover who loves to be in the great outdoors! I am currently looking for partners, testers, influencers, marketing gurus and other like-minded people who share my love for dogs and the outdoors to help me make this brand something we all can be proud of!
I hope you will reach out to me if you are interested in being part of the Whyld crew, we would love to have help to bring this dream to life!
If you would like to stay updated on our progress, pre-purchase a "doggybag", sign up for updates on the company, or simply receive an email when our Kickstarter campaign launches in April please sign up for updates!
Thank you so much for stopping by and River and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Much love,
Rachel & River
![That feeling when the world is on fire but nothing can phase you anymore 😂😅 📸: Handsome Zeus 👑] I absolutely love this ...](https://img3.voofla.com/927/588/3042981539275880.jpg)
