Pupply

5/6/2025

The Vest

I purchased this vest at the 2024 Leather Leadership Conference auction. It is self-earned leather. I volunteered for 12 hours bootblacking at the convention, it was the place I truly started to consider myself Leather.

My vest is a work in progress that will follow me through my life as a Leather dog. I am an ever changing, evolving person and my vest reflects this. I sewed velcro strips into the leather so that I can change the placement and types of patches, because I know I will want to wear different ones in the future if I ever join a coalition or house. Most of my patches are service dog themed to signal my role within my community. I sewed in the pawprint and chain detailing, and there is a pull chain on the back of my vest for my owner to hold, and for easy storage. The only patch that is sewn in is the back patch, the patch was screen printed and I didn’t want to risk damaging the fabric.

The patches I’m currently wearing/own are from the following shops on Etsy:

CrabcakeVisions

RoyalK9Gear

Battlebornlthercare

TundraGeekCreations

SocialRebellion

AtomicGothicShop

The Dog

At a kink party in Jaunary of 2023, I met a bootblack named Sorin. It was the first time I had ever seen a bootblack before, and I was incredibly curious. I sat for her and asked many questions about what she did, and she was patient and kind to me. At the end of the service, she handed me a tin of Kiwis and told me that if I wanted to learn, I should go to a bootblacking class that spring. That was the beginning of my Leather journey. From there, I learned about the history and culture of Leather, and became deeply enamored with values of honor, integrity, and self love. I found many folks who were willing to teach me, and I found a sense of community that I lacked in my life.

I am Leather, punk, queer, and a collectivist anarchist. Community means a lot to me.

What community looks like within Leather circles is a hotly debated subject. I’m not the smartest dog. It’s a hard metaphysical idea for my puppy brain to really grasp. I truly believe I was put on this earth to serve others, and especially to help people be their most authentic selves. My goal is to educate and create spaces for Leather, kink, LGBT+, and other oppressed groups to thrive. I reject the social repression of consensual love by talking about our shared history, a history that is often left unspoken.

Many brave folks before me lived lives that were hard and violent in order to be their authentic selves. In a world that systematically rejected them and told them that they were disgusting, dangerous, and undeserving, they fought for acceptance, compassion, and love. Without them, we would not have Leather titles, play parties, bar nights, or even the most basic rights.

To that end, my community are the folks who believe in and continue to fight the fight for those who are gone.

I am a service dog to the movement of sexual liberation, and to my community.