Ruffwear founder Patrick Kruse has been exploring the outdoors with his canine companions for as long as he can remember. He launched the performance dog gear company Ruffwear from his garage in the early 1990s when he observed a friend struggling to give her dog a drink from a plastic bag during a day mountain biking expedition in California's Los Padres National Forest. He first product was the collapsible fabric dog bowl that put outdoor dog gear as a whole new product category on the map. Dogs around the world use Ruffwear gear for avalanche rescue, wildlife and wilderness conservation, guide and service dog work, and of course enjoying adventures with their humans.