The spirit of Vail Mountain’s first canine on Vail Ski Patrol lives on via bourbon, ball caps, beanies, T-shirts, sweatshirts, dog bowls and more. Henry became an avalanche rescue dog in 2008 and during that time, he became the unofficial ambassador of Vail Ski Patrol. He passed away at the age of 15 in November 2022, but not before picking out the bourbon that would be made in honor of him. Avy Dog Bourbon was a collaboration with 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Co. of Gypsum. But for Chris “Mongo” Reeder and Mike “Kanger” Kang, they knew they wanted to do more.

Henry was Reeder’s loyal companion after Reeder’s family picked him out of the litter on a visit to Michigan in 2007. Reeder had been a long-time Vail ski patrolman and introduced the concept of an avalanche rescue dog to Vail Mountain in 2008. But even after Henry retired from his patrol duties and all the avalanche rescue training courses, Reeder knew he wanted to honor this special canine that had been a big part of the community and the slopes. Henry already had a lot of things named after him including Henry’s Hut on top of Vail Mountain, red wine and his own video talking about his life as an avalanche rescue dog.

“Henry increased the approachability of our Vail Ski Patrol group and people started coming in the door initially to see the dogs, but that transitioned into an opportunity to learn, to spread knowledge among their friends and visitors and to come away with more awareness of how to recreate in our mountains without having to recruit our avalanche dog’s professional services,” Reeder said.

Reeder and Kang’s collaboration with 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Co. came out in 2023 with Avy Dog Bourbon. The whiskey is primarily sold in the Vail Valley’s liquor stores, restaurants and bars, but now they have added a new apparel line.

“What we’re creating is an outdoor lifestyle brand revolving around our love of dogs that encompasses both bourbon and merchandise,” Kang said. “Our mission when we started the Avy Dog brand was to honor Henry and keep his memory alive as a lifelong service dog. But we also wanted to combine that with an altruistic component of giving back to Avalanche Rescue Dog programs, namely Vail Avalanche Rescue Dogs and C-RAD in Colorado.”

Actual photos were the inspiration behind the designs for the Henry’s Legacy Collection, which documents real moments from Henry’s service and the patrol teams he worked alongside. One design titled Henry and Patrol Dogs Flight for Life depicts four avalanche rescue dogs in front of the Flight for Life Helicopter. The image was captured during active service and shows the dogs exactly as they were — calm, trained and ready.

The Mountain Rescue Heli T-shirt shows Henry alongside Reeder during one of the most critical moments in Henry’s training and service — his helicopter rescue missions. Another favorite in the Henry’s Legacy Collection is the Lift Ride with Henry T-shirt. This iconic scene celebrates one of the most memorable images of Henry, riding the chairlift with Reeder on his way to work on Vail Mountain.

“The idea behind the Henry’s Legacy Series was to slow things down and treat each design as a piece of history, not just a graphic. We didn’t want artwork that felt generic or interchangeable. Every piece needed to start with a real moment to carry that meaning forward,” Reeder said. “This is more than a cool logo or picture, these designs are pieces of our lives training these dogs and working with them every day and it is a pleasure to share these moments.”

“The quality of the clothing is exceptional. These are pieces designed to be worn, lived in and kept over time,” Kang said. “We didn’t want to create apparel simply for the sake of having merchandise. Each piece was created to feel meaningful and connected to the story, something people want to come back to rather than wear once and forget.” 

In addition to T-shirts, sweatshirts and long-sleeved tees, the Avy Dog collection has drinkware, accessories, dog gear and more.

“Our plan from the beginning was to start our brand in Vail where Henry has his roots and where his legacy was born as Vail Mountain’s first ski patrol and avalanche rescue dog,” Kang said. “Next we want to grow our brand and branch out to other Colorado ski resort towns, then to larger markets in the front range with the ultimate goal to take Avy Dog onto the national stage.”

Reeder and Kang said that they will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of Avy Dog Bourbon and Avy Dog merchandise to support service dog organizations on both a local and national level. Learn more at vailavalancherescuedogs.org and support this nonprofit through Colorado Gives, and by stopping by Patrol Headquarters on top of Vail Mountain to purchase limited edition Avy Dog merchandise in person or go online at avydoghenry.com to shop as well. Follow Avy Dogs’ social media outlets to learn about upcoming events and more.

This story is from VailDaily.com.