So Long Otis

On a road trip with my dog, I learned the news belatedly: Otis, the constant companion to Ruff Wear founder Patrick Kruse, passed away at the end of August. The nearly 13-year-old Australian Cattle Dog was put down after complications from bladder cancer became debilitating.

In an email to friends, Patrick described Otis’s full life as sidekick to a dog-gear designer. He swam in the Pacific Ocean, ran and kayaked rivers in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. He’d been eye to eye with spy-hopping Orcas in the San Juan Islands, plucked oysters from Westcott Bay, run amok at Crissy Field under the Golden Gate Bridge and on and on.

I had the pleasure of meeting Otis and Patrick at Ruff Wear in Bend, Oregon, last year. (Otis is one of a couple dozen adventuresome pups in my upcoming book, Unleashed: Climbing Canines, Hiking Hounds, Fishing Fidos, and Other Daring Dogs.) That day, while Patrick and I talked, Otis ripped, chewed, and tore at Ruff Wear samples like a puppy—just one of his many duties as a product tester. In younger days, his responsibilities included putting boots through their paces on mountain bike rides, demo-ing dog packs, and test-driving the K-9 Float Coat in mountain rivers.

According to Patrick, Otis was inspirational and instrumental in the development and improvement of many products—the benefits of which extend far beyond all of us who use the products for play. Ruff Wear gear has assisted human-dog teams at Ground Zero, after Hurricane Katrina, and during the war in Iraq, as well as enhancing the lives of individuals who depend on service and guide dogs.

On my tour of the West, I have a Ruff Wear collapsible bowl and dog boots among my supplies. Next hike, we’ll be remembering Otis.

Lisa Wogan