Our Story

Hi, I’m Yukiko, Mother to two senior Dachshunds and a fluffball Samoyed. And one of the founders of Pupford. I LOVE dogs (maybe a little too much… actually that’s not possible.) and got into fostering surrendered pups in my home state of Utah about three years ago.The rescue organizations in Utah seriously rock and I’ve been lucky enough to foster 20+ dogs that needed a little TLC before finding their forever homes.When you bring a new foster pup into your home, most of their background is a complete mystery. All you know is that it’s your duty to prepare them for adoption into a loving home. Preparing pups for adoption is like caring for any other dog, and it revolves around three critical components:

Companionship

Both man (or woman!) and dog are social beings and neither can thrive without meaningful relationships.

Nutrition

Receiving the right daily nutrition can rapidly transform a dog’s physical and mental health.

Training

Proper obedience encourages positive behaviors, provides mental stimulation, and builds trust.These three things work together in tandem to make a pup truly happy!

Why Pupford?

It’s all about empowering you to build a better relationship with your pup(s)!Our dream is to give every pup parent out there access to the best training resources and nutrition products available. And don’t worry, this isn’t some crazy dog lady spamming her crackpot ideas and hocking home-brewed products.Luckily, we’ve been able to assemble an Avengers-style squad of super experts and legitimate professionals with a singular vision of improving dog's lives.Thanks for visiting Pupford and seriously contact us if you need anything! We'll do everything in our power to make sure you have a great experience.

Meet the Pupford Team

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Austin Stephan

Copywriter

He’s frequently called, “the Ron Weasley of the Dog World” by Pupford’s wise toothless wiener dog named Carl. Hopefully he calls him that, because he’s loyal, funny, and sometimes brave and not just because he’s the only ginger in the office. Who’s to say.Oh, he also loves creating the best content online about everything dogs and how they can make even the most stubborn mother-in-laws into sweet angels. Now that’s real magic.

Caitlin Peterson

Content Master

Caitlin’s the kind of person who goes to a party… and makes friends with the dog. She loves all furry friends, traveling, hiking, eating, and online shopping (but not actually buying anything).Marketing coordinator by day and content writer by night – she loves to execute campaigns and strategies and write about all things dogs.

CeLisa Steele

Dog & Human Mom Extraordinaire

Meet CeLisa! Dog mom, human mom, social worker and generally a big-time pup lover. She loves staying in hotels, exploring new places and reading.CeLisa and Mike had agreed on a small dog when they decided to get a pup together, but she brought home Doris instead 😉 And they don’t regret it!Also, she WILL kidnap your dogs and snuggle them.

Devin Stagg

Assistant to the Marketing Manager

Since being deprived of dogs during his childhood, he and his wife decided to make up for it by having three dogs, two Lab puppies, and one grandpa Puggle. Meaning you won’t see him not covered in dog hair.When he’s not busy training his dogs and/or picking up their poop, you can find him cheering on Tottenham Hotspur and all Cleveland sports (yes, even the Browns).

EG Stephan

Marketing

Just a dude living the Dog Dad lifestyle. He has a special place in his heart for stubborn Dachshunds with potty training issues and rescue pups looking for their forever homes here in Utah.After a successful e-commerce exit at the end of 2016, he’s devoted the next phase of his life to innovating the dog training and dog food industry. Which of course ties back to his stubborn Dachshunds. Oh, Carl.

Lizzy Pinckney

Creative Director

Obsessed with food and every dog she sees. She loves to travel and be outside. She spends her time photographing people and animals and eating donuts (often at the same time).Lizzy eats, breathes, and sleeps color and design. She whole-heartedly believes in products and services that help others (including pups) and the environment.

Mike Steele

Founder / Owner

Mike grew up around animals (cows, turtles, frogs, cats and a number of other animals you might find on a farm), but surprisingly never had a dog – he had no idea what he was missing!Then came Doris. Doris is his 80 lb Labradoodle, and even though she ate an entire bag of blueberry muffins from the counter this morning, she’s entirely changed their home for the better. Mike loves pups, the Utah Jazz, the outdoors and family time.

Yukiko Stephan

Bad Ass Dog Mom

Mother to two senior Dachshunds and a fluffball Samoyed and one of the founders of Pupford. She LOVES dogs (maybe a little too much… actually that’s not possible.) and got into fostering surrendered pups in our home state of Utah about three years ago.The rescue organizations in Utah seriously rock and I’ve been lucky enough to foster 20+ dogs that needed a little TLC before finding their forever homes.

Zak George

Training Expert

There’s not enough room in this little section to cover all of Zak’s accolades, but we’ll give it a shot…Celebrity dog trainer, trained thousands of dogs, YouTube channel is the number one destination for dog training content in the world with more than ten million views annually, best selling training book on Amazon, star of multiple t.v. shows and appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Early Show on CBS, Fox and Friends, and Rachael Ray.