From an App to a Brand: Our Origin Story

Me and Fergus. He wasn't just my first client; he was the Majestic Hound who inspired the name 'Tails on Trails' and taught me to be bold.

Let’s be real. The pet industry is weird. The bar is often set incredibly low.

People think if you have a heartbeat and a pair of sneakers, you can be a dog walker.

When I first started, here in North Brisbane, I fell into that trap.

I joined one of those massive gig-economy apps, you know the ones, where you do all the work and they take 20% of your money.

I was just another face in a sea of thousands of sitters.

But then I got my very first booking request. A magnificent Irish Wolfhound named Fergus.

The Walk That Almost Didn't Happen

I almost cancelled that meet and greet.

Just a few days prior, my own soul-dog, Ella, had suffered a heart attack. She was recovering, and my world was rocked. The guilt of leaving her side, even for a 30-minute meeting, felt heavy.

But something told me to go. So, with a heavy heart, I drove over.

Thank god I did.

I didn't just meet a client that day. I met my people. Fergus’s humans didn’t stay "customers" for long. We bonded instantly over our shared, intense love for dogs.

They quickly became family to me.

To this day, even without Fergus here, they are still my Brisbane family. (They’ve since adopted a new boy, Sin, now Doogie, but that’s a whole other fun story for another day!)

Ditching the Apps

Our first walk together was at the Samford Reserve trails.

Seeing Fergus out there, happy and free, was the spark.

A few weeks later, the reality of the "gig economy" hit me.

I realised that giving half my earnings to a faceless app wasn't sustainable, and frankly, it wasn't worth the level of care I was providing.

I decided to go solo and open my own business.

But I needed a name. I won't lie to you, I asked ChatGPT. 🤖

We brainstormed around the memory of that very first walk with Fergus.

And just like that, Tails on Trails was born.

The "Beige Aesthetic" Crisis

The original logo. Pretty, but not us.

Having a name was one thing. Knowing who I was as a brand was another.

At first, I tried to fit the mould.

I thought a professional pet business had to look a certain way, quiet, inoffensive, "aesthetic."

I got my first logo done: a delicate, fine-line pink drawing of a girl and a dog.

It was pretty. It was polite. It was utterly boring.

It didn’t feel like me.

And it certainly didn’t match the energy of the dogs I love.

Honouring Fergus Through Boldness

The new look. Bold, vivid, and unapologetic.

Then, suddenly, we lost Fergus. It broke all our hearts.

He wasn't just a client; he was the beginning.

He was the "Tail" on the Trail.

I knew I had to honour him in the branding.

I tried to force a Wolfhound silhouette into that same quiet, fine-line style. But it still felt wrong.

Neither Fergus nor I were "delicate" or "beige."

We are bold. We are vivid. We are full of personality.

I realised I had to stop pretending to be a quiet little hobby business.

I scrapped the "beige mum" vibe completely.

I found a designer who listened when I said, "Make it loud."

The logo you see today, bold, colourful, taking up space, is us.

It represents who we are.

We aren't just walking dogs; we are honouring their personalities, their quirks, and their "big feelings."

Rest in peace, sweet Fergus.

And thank you to his family for trusting me back when I was just a girl with an app.

You started it all.

Do you have a "soul dog" who changed the way you look at the world?

I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.