A Wayfinder and her Wildlings

[ Image by @idyllwanders | Mollie photographing Winry ]

Mutt Pack Outfitters has been planning a blog for some time now. In fact, you can find our very first blog post via the blog tab and it’s from back in March! Why didn’t it start then? Simple… It’s not a walk in the park running a small business! With so many orders and a growing business, Michele, owner and creator of Mutt Pack Outfitters, is busy making durable adventure gear and the blog took the back burner. This is where I come in.

Some of you may know me as @voyagewilder (formerly known as @rescue_tails and @wildling_tails) on Instagram, some may simply know me as “that one person with all the dogs,” while few know me by my name. As I will be doing this blog for Mutt Pack Outfitters, I think it’s fitting to introduce myself to anyone out there reading this. My name is Mollie. I am many things, but mostly I am a professional dog handler and trainer, as well as a hobbyist photographer, blogger, Instagrammer, Social Media Manager, gamer, etc.

Although I get paid for a lot of my Instagram and Social Media work, it does still feel odd to call myself a “professional.” The easiest way to explain it is that it’s all side hustle because, you know, a girl’s gotta live! My full time job is as a trainer, handler, and the manager of an outdoor, adventure themed doggie daycare! I absolutely love what I do and it gives me the freedom during the day to also work on social media. Essentially, I am a professional dog petter and I am very proud of what I do.

Quoting from the true first blog post, written by Michele herself: “This blog will feature a variety of topics, from shop updates, features with our amazing ambassador adventure squad, tips & tricks, fun activities to try with your pup, and so much more!” That is still very much true and I hope to provide something everyone out there can be excited for weekly. From tales of my own adventures, recipes, everything stated above, and even other shops we love! While some blog posts will be about Mutt Pack and its gear, think of this more of an extension of Mutt Pack Outfitters and what the brand stands for as a whole - for dog lovers and pet parents alike.

Image by AlphaOrionis42 via Wikipedia | The Olympic Mountains

A little bit about me… Well, I am the person with all the dogs. It’s true. Currently, I have 6 rescue dogs, along with 4 cats, rats, ducks, and mice. I am in my late 20’s and despite constant hiking and over 10k steps a day, I am not in very good shape. I am a vegetarian, making a very very slow transition to vegan. We all live together in a travel trailer in the great state of Washington, amongst the evergreens and mountains. Our trailer is tucked away down a long, dead end road, hidden by the forest, with views of the Olympic Mountains. We’re on an island and while life works just a bit differently here, we wouldn’t trade it. I have been working with Mutt Pack since just before the shop opened as an ambassador and have been a loyal customer and supporter ever since.

If you’ve explored the Mutt Pack site or seen their Instagram and Facebook, perhaps you’ve caught a glimpse of some of my pack before. Winry often models the header image of Mutt Pack Outfitters and is never without some Mutt Pack gear. She’s a 6 year old (turning 7 Nov 7th, 2019) super mutt who enjoys hiking, swimming, and any adventure you throw at her. She also doubles as a fully task trained Psychiatric Service Dog for myself, as I am legally disabled. Aside from my main squeeze, there’s also Kenoby, a Border Collie who survived Stage 4 Hip Dysplasia and corrective surgery as a puppy), Bigby Wolf, a Husky mix who enjoys greeting strangers with his teeth, but is as sweet as can be once you get to know him, and Paladyn, an American Staffordshire Terrier with a heart of gold, but developed full and partial seizures due to frontal lobe damage. Then there’s Bryer Thorne, a Cattle Dog/Rat Terrier mix that does his very best to keep up with the big dogs and Juniper, a German Shepherd mix that doesn’t look like a German Shepherd, but one that I hand raised from a day old.

Image by @voyagewilder | Winry with Mount Rainier

With such a large pack, I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I would say I have quite a lot of experience hiking with, traveling with, and living with multiple dogs of different shapes, breeds, and personality. I look forward to sharing that knowledge with you, along with the awesome things we have planned for this blog. I want to introduce you all to some of my adventure pals who are also ambassadors for Mutt Pack, and share their stories too!