Believe it or not, it wasn’t a dog who inspired us to build the first Orvis Dog’s Nest^®.

Rather, it was a goat by the name of Williams—a pet of our president and CEO, Perk Perkins, in his college days. In 1976, an English tweed salesman sent a cozy, soft bed to the United States for Williams to use. Unfortunately, Williams soon discovered he had a bit of competition at naptime.

“When we saw how much all the dogs in our house took to it, we knew the product was a perfect match for our dog-loving customers.”

-Leigh Perkins,
Perks dad and leader of the company from 1965 to 1992.

With that, the Orvis Dog’s Nest^® was born—

and of all the products Orvis has brought to market over the years, none has received a better reception. Since the first Dog’s Nest was introduced in 1976, Orvis has sold nearly one million dog beds. And we have a goat to thank for the idea!