10/03/2026
Over 20 years ago, I went shopping for a play pool for my dog, Montgomery.
I walked into the store expecting to find something made for dogs.
Instead, all I found were thin plastic kiddie pools — the kind that crack, leak, and collapse under normal play, and were never really designed with dogs in mind.
I left disappointed.
And empty-handed.
That’s when the idea began.
I decided to make something better.
I knew nothing about the plastic business.
But I knew how to draw my idea.
So, in 2005, using vellum, pencil, drafting instruments, and templates, I designed what would eventually become the Bone Pool — a pool engineered specifically for dogs.
Not a kiddie pool.
A dog pool.
Two years later, while attending college, I designed the Paw Pool in AutoCAD, refining the concept even further.
That original drawing started a journey that has now spanned more than twenty years — learning every part of the process, from design to eventually manufacturing the pools myself.
Today, Bone Pools and Paw Pools are used in homes, dog daycare resorts, and animal facilities around the world — helping dogs cool off, play, and enjoy life.
Recently I reflected on this journey and the concept of Ikigai — the intersection of passion, skill, purpose, and livelihood.
If you'd like to read the full story behind the journey, you can see the announcement here:
👉 https://apnews.com/press-release/ein-presswire-newsmatics/entrepreneur-raymond-palmer-reflects-on-ikigai-journey-behind-one-dog-one-bone-70ce253dd5ac76c96393a777ed26a016
Because when passion, skill, and purpose come together, something meaningful can be created.
— Raymond Palmer
Design, Invent, Execute™
Inventor of the Bone Pool shares how creativity, craftsmanship, and purpose shaped a life’s work with dogs