Lori R. Taylor & Truman

TRUDOG founder, Lori R. Taylor, wrote a letter to her late Great Dane named Truman, the pup who inspired her company.

Dear Truman,

It’s been ten years this year, and not a day goes by I don’t think of you. Whether it’s TJ opening the garage door to come in like you always did, or seeing one of the cats brush up against him - I remember just how much you loved your Smoky Bones kitty cat. (RIP Smoky).

I remember the first time I saw you. You were everything I had ever dreamed of as a little girl. Someday, I used to tell myself. Someday. And while some memories have faded, my heart could never really forget. Sure, other dogs have come and some have gone but none will ever be the dog you were for me. You were the dog of a life time.

Having lost my adopted mom to cancer, I knew too well what we were going to be up against when you were diagnosed. It took many nights of tears, prayers and even a mind-blowing session with a pet psychic for me to decide to remove your leg to get you cancer free. Your brave heart filled with courage, you fought so hard to stay with me and make it work. Until the weight of your body on just the one front leg was too much to bear. That day was the hardest day of my life. Yet, as my beloved Garth Brooks sings, “I’d have never missed the dance.”

Because of you, I am committed to living with my heart wide open. Because of you, I fight to feel the sun on my face even in the darkest of days. Because of you, I find better ways to be present, to be joyful and to be hopeful in what’s possible… I imagine your beautiful, soulful eyes, as your tail wags with gentle, quiet confidence urging me to believe. If you can find a way to run across a field perfectly balanced on 3 legs when no one thought you could— then yes, my beautiful Trumie, for you — I can find the yes in every dream I dream.

It was in your honor I found the courage to start a small company in a giant, male-dominated industry and succeed in showing millions of pet parents a better way to love their dog’s life. And while it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, on the darkest of days, when I was convinced total failure was imminent, I kept going and rowing — fighting the good fight for all the dogs out there to create a better world for our pets by empowering their people. All because of you.