Meet the founder of DLR

Hi, I’m Kristin Trudeau, founder of Dog Love Repeat.  My ever-present sidekick, Trixie, is the reason why DLR exists.  Without the support of my husband, Dan, and my kids, Max and Alex, this dream would never have come to fruition.

[av_image src=’https://www.dogloverepeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/DLR-Blog-MeetKristin-180×180.png’ attachment=’1832′ attachment_size=’square’ align=’left’ styling=’circle’ hover=” link=” target=” caption=” font_size=” appearance=” overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’ custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=” av_uid=’av-2568uf’][/av_image]

I never considered myself a “dog person” until Trixie came along 5 years ago.  My family was begging to get a dog and I was the one holding out…my excuses were they’re too messy, they’ll wreck the house, they’re a lot of work, no one will take care of it and the burden will fall to the parents, etc.  They eventually wore me down and one day I just said, let’s go find our dog.

We never considered anything but a rescue dog.  We discovered there are so many wonderful rescue organizations in the Twin Cities area – thank goodness for the marvelous work they do. My son, Max, picked Trixie’s photo out of one of the websites.  We went to visit her and that was that.  She was rescued from a ditch in Northern Minnesota…and then she rescued our family.

A few months after we adopted her, my dad passed away.  He battled clinical depression for over 30 years of his life.  He was tired and couldn’t battle it anymore.  He died due to suicide in April 2012.  It’s amazing how that 10-pound dog full of love helped us all deal with the shock and heal over the years.  He never met Trixie, but I know he knows her now. 

Living in Minnesota, it was a necessity to clothe Trixie.  I was underwhelmed by the options available.  Everything seemed to be kind of drab and didn’t match Trixie’s personality or my style or aesthetic.  I wanted my dog to be a reflection of my taste.

A few years later, my gut said it’s time to take a risk and go for your dream.  I didn’t want to live with the regret.  That was when I started plotting the launch of my dog business.  I noticed the maker movement was exploding everywhere, but I didn’t really see it cross over into the dog market. The artisan created product idea is also congruent with my upbringing by a mother who was an artist and taught art.  She inspired me to be an artist in my own way.  I had a purpose and a concept. 

Part of DLR’s mission is to be philanthropic and support dog rescue organizations, mental illness awareness, research and treatment and arts in school and the artist community.  Now you hopefully have a better understanding where these passions have stemmed from.

If you are reading this, you probably have similar magical dog stories of your own you could relay.  Let us hear them!  We’d love to know about the furry loves of your lives.  Drop us a line at hello@dogloverepeat.com

xoxo

Kristin + Trixie