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RunPups LLC is a female veteran-owned business that is passionate about two things—running and dogs. We believe living an active lifestyle is better with a four-legged companion. It doesn't matter if you walk, run, or hike with your furry friend as long as you’re moving forward and enjoying the moment! RunPups™ is more than a retail store. We are a community of people who value the experiences of life and outdoor adventures with our loyal companions.
To inspire an active lifestyle with your pup
To provide products to enhance your active lifestyle
To share our blessing with people and pups in need
Bailey, a mixed-breed Australian cattle dog, began her career as Chief RunPup at two years of age after being adopted from the Animal Defense League of Texas. She’s an accomplished dog, with obedience skills that include sit, stay, come, down, chill, leave it, drop it, and get it. She currently trains for 10k and 15k runs with her Mom. Bailey is also working on her social skills, learning how to behave in public around other dogs and distractions. When Bailey’s not busy training and being the face of RunPups, she enjoys hunting geckos, tearing up toilet paper, and stealing Dad’s socks.
Bailey’s motto: “Yes, I’m high maintenance; deal with it.”
Tater is a mixed-breed terrier, we think. Tater chose us on a freezing winter morning when she timidly wandered up to our house. She was malnourished, losing hair, suffering from mange, and had ears loaded with 20-30 ticks. We nursed her back to health and fell in love with her optimistic, quirky personality. She's now strong and healthy and runs up to 13 miles with her mom. When Tater isn’t running, she enjoys annoying her sister Roxy, chewing on sticks, chasing squirrels, and cuddling with her parents. She has many aliases such as Tater the Gator, Tater Tot, Tater Bug, and Rolling Thunder.
Tater’s motto: “Girls just wanna have fun.”
Roxy is a bulldog mix that we adopted from a local shelter. Roxy doesn’t believe in distance running like her sisters. She only sprints to her dog bowl at dinner time and when chasing off any animal or person that dares enter her backyard.
Roxy’s motto: “Don’t bother me unless you have food.”
A stranger’s tragedy ignited my passion. It’s an indescribable feeling when you realize your life could have been taken in an instant. We all know this, but rarely do we allow ourselves to truly feel this reality until tragedy strikes close to home. In 2013, a young female runner was brutally stabbed to death in a park near my home. The next day, I ran alone at the very same park, completely ignorant of the brutal attack that had just occurred only hours before. That evening, I saw a local news segment about the horrifying attack, and even more terrifying, I found out that the murderer was still at large! Suddenly, the vision of a psycho man creeping behind the cover of the wooded trail sent chills down my spine. I could’ve easily been his next victim!
Thankfully, I wasn’t a victim that day, and I refuse to be a victim by living in fear. I wasn’t going to stop running and hiking, but adding another layer of security seemed appropriate. My military background taught me valuable lessons about using situational awareness and making myself a hard target. As an avid dog lover, the solution was delightfully simple—get a four-legged running partner! Combining two of my favorite things, running and pups, made perfect sense. RunPups and a passion for running with my dog was born.
Dogs are great deterrents to would-be criminals. Plus, they might see or hear things before you do, boosting your situational awareness. This is certainly the case with my protective cattle dog, Bailey. I’ve since discovered countless additional benefits and the joy of including my dog in my outdoor adventures.
Sharing our story is not meant to cause sadness or elicit fear. We want our story to educate, empower, and encourage you to live your life to the fullest. I never met Lauren, the young lady in our story, but after reading her last blog post it’s apparent to me she was a sincere and positive person who was striving for success and finding that success in helping others. Her measure of success was hearing her maker say "Well done, my good and faithful servant." I have no doubt she heard those meaningful words. On her blog there’s a quote that says “find joy in the journey now.” I couldn’t agree more. Let’s all go out and find joy in our journey now.
To all the people like Lauren who have suffered needless attacks while running—You are not forgotten.
