The dog who started it all
“Hi. I’m Hårek.
Today, I take over the voice of Non-stop dogwear. For the first time, it's a dog who speaks.
Why me?
Because I’m the one who started it all.
My story is the story of this company. Not because I’m special. But because every dog deserves what I was given: the chance to move freely, to feel seen, understood, and unstoppable.
I was born in 2006. Elverum, Norway. Seven of us in the litter. German Shorthaired Pointers. Born to race, to hunt, to run.
But before any of that… I played.
I chased scents in the grass. Stamped the earth with my paws. I ran not to win, not to train, but to feel, to move, to explore the world. My body was growing. Stronger, faster. My legs stretching farther. My instincts louder each day.
Tonje and Kristoffer, my humans, took me on every kind of adventure. Hiking. Hunting. Swimming. Dog shows. And into it all – mountains, forests, cities. With every new experience, I grew more curious. More confident.
But something always drew my attention. The humans called them "harnesses”. I watched as the other dogs stepped into theirs. First standing still, claws anchored into the earth, muscles tight, waiting for the go. Then it came. A burst of movement, barks of joy overtaking the wind, with the human flying behind on skis, bike, scooter, or just legs alone.
This, I knew, was for me. This, was my mission.
The first time I wore a harness, I felt electric. I leaned into it with everything I had.
But something was wrong. I felt... limited.
It wasn’t my stride. Not the way I moved when I was truly free. My breathing was tight. I gave all I had, but felt held back.
I looked at the humans, hoping they saw all the disappointment I couldn’t hide. That wasn’t the run I had inside me.
Luckily, I was a master at showing how I felt. My ears, my eyes, my tail, my whole body spoke. And Tonje and Kristoffer read me like an open book.
They knew it wasn’t me that needed fixing. It was the gear.
So, they started. Sewing. Testing. Tinkering. Always trying again.
Until one day, at winter training camp, they slipped a new harness over me. Head through. Right leg. Left leg. The snap of the bungee attachment.
I leaned forward.
And there it was.
No pressure. No block. No breath held back. Freedom. Power rising from the ground up.
They felt it too. I heard it in their voices, smelled it in the air.
We had made it together.
I clawed into the snow. Waited. And then I ran.
I was airborne. Flying. Like I had no gear on at all.
From that day, it wasn’t just about me. Other dogs started wearing it. Running. Racing. Training. Gear that finally moved with them, not against them.
We kept racing. We kept winning. But most of all, we moved as one. Empowered together. Every stride, every pull, deepening our bond.
On training runs, I’d often outrun the other dogs. But I couldn’t help it… I kept stopping to look back. Checking on Tonje and Kristoffer. I just wanted us to stay together. That mattered to me. But on race day? I was locked in. Hunting the finish line together.
And when the radio played the popular “Grace Kelly” song, I’d throw back my head and howl together with my human family, under the baffled stares of my dog family. My joy was too big to hold.
I’m not part of this world anymore.
But I’m still everywhere at Non-stop dogwear.
In the sketches on the wall at the headquarters. In the painting above Tonje and Kristoffer’s desk. In Hårek - the special mannequin of me, made to show how freedom of motion should fit and move with dogs. In all the gear designed with the purpose of giving every dog the same experience I had. In the promise to inspire you to be active together.
I was their special dog and will remain the one all Non-stop dogwear team knows.
Not every dog will race. Not every dog will pull a sled. That doesn’t matter.
Every dog has something inside them that deserves to be unleashed.
I was lucky to be heard. To be understood. To have humans who never saw my limits as mine, but as problems to solve-together.
I was Hårek. But I could have been any dog.
And your dog could be me.
So today, on International Dog Day, I pass on my voice to them.
Unleash your potential.”
- Hårek