Written by: Tash and Vin founders of Pippas Paws
We are Tash and Vin and we live in North Wales with our 3-year-old Dalmatian, Pippa.
We both quit our careers with the aim to travel Europe in our recently converted campervan and then Covid-19 happened and like everyone else we were restricted to our county.
Pippa had 13 beautiful spotty puppies in the summer of 2020 and after they left for their forever homes, we decided to set ourselves a challenge of walking to each peak we could see from where we live. Daily 6am starts and 3 hour walks kept us sane.
Every morning and in fact, over the last 10 years or so we were faced with a problem. Firstly, walking both Pippa and her sister Lulu with leads in one hand, treats, coffee, a phone (for photo opportunities of course) and a full poo bag or two. Notice how there is never a bin around when you need one?
Secondly, it was alarming to see the number of abandoned poop bags left on the side of footpaths. I don’t know whether this is because people genuinely forget about them or because they are too embarrassed to carry one around, for what could be hours at a time.
We decided a backpack was a must on our walks but we still had the issue of carrying the dog poop/s!
After searching the internet for possible solutions we were none the wiser.
Therefore, we started to sketch our ideas, gather funds, make contact with contractors, manufacturers, designers and sourced some prototype samples and that is when the ‘DumpStore’ was born. We were faced with obstacles and challenges as any new business is. Shipping was an issue as prices have increased over the last year and having to make alterations to the samples on a number of occasions, but we got there in the end.
The ‘Dumpstore’ is a backpack that has a dedicated compartment, completely separate from the remaining backpack, that holds dog poo. The poo bag is placed into a sealed airtight container and then slides into the dedicated section of the backpack.
To put an element of fun into it, we decided that we would like to create a matching collar, harness and lead to go with the Backpack. We invested in four designs with the view that there is something for everyone. Due to the minimum quantities, we could order from the manufacturers, we took a risk and invested considerably more than we initially expected, but we truly believe in the product, as a solution to a lot of dog owners problems.
Five months later and we have built quite a community/family over on Instagram @pippas.paws all of which have played a part in bringing this solution to life. Many dog owners have been able to relate to this problem, so are just as excited as we are to see it roll out.
Our mission is to spread the word! Not only will the ‘DumpStore’ free up our hands from carrying dog poo; allowing us to enjoy our adventures. But we will be pretty stylish in our matching gear too. More importantly, we truly hope to see less abandoned poo bags destroying our beautiful footpaths.
We pride ourselves on giving back, therefore we will be donating some of the proceeds to a charity of the public’s choice. Pippa’s Paws foundation will be set up and yearly we aim to support different causes.
Follow their adventures: