We are excited to say we have officially launched to the world!
On the 4th of July Weekend 2019, I (Co-Founder Kelly) took off on an obnoxiously long (123 mile) bike ride to my In-Laws cabin in central Minnesota. Like usual, I decided last minute, with little prep, biking 123 miles would be a good idea (it wasn’t).
After a night by the fire, with friends, I woke up early in the morning to pack my stuff, and take off on the longest bike ride I’ve ever attempted. That morning, In my poorly planned, groggy, rushed exit, I forgot my headphones. If you didn’t know, 123 miles is a very long way to be stuck with yourself…
Fortunately (or unfortunately) at mile 40 I had the idea of cutting up retired climbing ropes and turning them into dog leashes and other k9 accessories people want. For the next 83 miles, I slowly pieced together the idea of CragDog. How do we get the material? How do we make the gear? How can we give back to the climbing community? Give back…How do we give back? The answer is simple. 30% of all sales are given back to local and national climbing advocacy organizations.
Immediately upon returning home from the holiday weekend, I went downstairs to cut up my old climbing rope and made my first dog leash. A few trials later, CragDog was born! I very quickly realized that if I wanted CragDog to succeed, I needed help. From there, I reached out to my long time friend and climbing partner Christian; he was on board instantly. Christian hacked up his ropes and we’ve been hand-sewing ever since.
If you have any suggestions or comments we are all ears. We are here to advocate for the climbing community. If we’re not living up to that expectation, we want to know!
We’re excited, I hope you are too.