Holland the Pup loves traveling, food, and sports. Especially the Tampa Bay Lightning.
If you’re on Instagram and spot a Lab mix wearing a blue hockey sweater with the No. 4 on it, chances are you came across Holland the Pup.
She belongs to travel blogger Adam Vosding, the Traveling Food Dude, and they go around the country eating delicious food and watching sports, which sounds like an amazing life.
Vosding adopted her from a Tampa shelter in 2015 and estimates she’s about six years old, and she weighs about 37 pounds. The rescue dog was known as Jeannette before getting the name Holland, not because of Arrow actress Willa Holland, but because his parents are both of Dutch ancestry.
Holland and Vosding can be followed on Instagram at @HollandThePup and @TravelingFoodDude, they’re also both on Facebook, and they have a website and YouTube channel to document their adventures as well.
Dog O’Day got to do an email interview with her this past weekend, which covered a variety of cool topics, including road-tripping tips, why hockey especially and sports in general are awesome, and her crush on Bark-Andre Furry.
The lowdown on everything Holland-related starts here.
Dog O’Day: How did you get involved in the Tampa Bay Lightning scene, and sports in general?
Holland the Pup: Well my dad has been a Tampa Bay Lightning season ticket holder for over ten years now, so pretty much as soon as he adopted me I found myself wearing a lot of Tampa Bay Lightning gear and we lived right across from Amalie Arena so I would walk by the arena every day when we lived in Tampa!
Dog O’Day: What other teams are you a fan of?
Holland the Pup: The Lightning are by far my favorite team, but I also love the Florida Gators (Dad went there), in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Dog O’Day: Your Lightning sweater looks great; does the No. 4 have a special significance in why you picked it?
Holland the Pup: Well my dad’s favorite number is No. 4 and he feels center Vinny LeCavalier (1998-2013) was one of the players who really helped Tampa get on the map in the world of hockey. Vinny’s number is now retired (in 2018), so it’s in honor of Vinny and his legacy with the Lightning, plus my dad’s favorite number. Vinny, if you read this and want to meet up and sign my jersey, let me know!
Dog O’Day: Where is your favorite place you’ve visited?
Holland the Pup: I’ve loved all the national parks and beaches we have visited, but so far I think my favorite place has been San Francisco. It’s close to San Jose where the Sharks play and in San Francisco I got to see my Rays play the Giants, ride a trolley, play on the beach by the Golden Gate Bridge and get lots of good seafood leftovers from my dad!
We stayed at a cool pet-friendly hotel in downtown San Fran called The Cartwright Union Square and that was pretty cool, too!
Dog O’Day: You’ve visited a lot of arenas and stadiums – do you have a favorite?
Holland the Pup: I have been to eight NHL arenas so far, so I still have a lot more go to, but I would say my trip to Vegas was pretty cool. I know it’s not very traditional to hockey, but we drove down the Vegas strip and although it was kind of overwhelming for me, it was indeed pretty cool. And I had the chance to meet Bark-Andre Furry where the Golden Knights train and that was really cool!
The LA Kings arena was also cool because there is a dog park right at LA Live! And my home arena of Tampa is one of my favorites being right on the water next to several pet friendly places. My dad is going to Sweden for the NHL Global series in November…I keep telling him I want to go, but right now he said he’s trying to figure out a way but it’s probably not likely. I’d love to check out that arena and the city of Stockholm!
Holland on road tripping and delicious snacks.
Dog O’Day: Do you have any tips for other dogs on how to make road trips easier?
Holland the Pup: Sometimes getting into certain places can be difficult for me because I’m not an official service dog (although I do think I would make a good one, my dad says he’s fortunate to not need one and doesn’t want to take advantage of the system).
As far as lodging goes, it’s been real easy finding cool places to stay using the “dog friendly” filters on Hotels.com and AirBnB. I haven’t stayed at a Stay Pineapple hotel yet, but they look really cool and are very pet friendly, so I’m hoping to stay there when we visit NYC when the Lightning play against the Rangers, Devils, and Islanders. They also have hotels in other NHL cities and I first found out about them when I looked to see where the new Seattle hockey team arena will be and noticed there is one right next to it!
Dog O’Day: What are some of your favorite snacks? Since Dad enjoys food so much, did he kind of pass that along?
Holland the Pup: Oh man, I like pretty much everything. My dad doesn’t always give me leftovers, but I think I do pretty good. My dad loves local products so I’ve been fortunate to get some local dog treats and dog food in certain areas we’ve visited.
I’m in Colorado right now and my dad got me some Colorado trout dog treats for our ride through Rocky Mountain National Park and they were delicious! I also had some dog treats made from crushed oyster shells when we visited Apalachicola, Florida…oyster country USA.
I just heard Flock and Stock, a chicken and burger joint located in Sparkman Wharf that’s right next to Amalie Arena just started selling dog treats so I can’t wait to check that out when I make it back down to Tampa for a game.
Dog O’Day: Without thumbs, how do you type?
Holland the Pup: It’s all eye contact! My dad is really good at interpreting my thoughts just by looking at me and then he does the typing thing. I can’t even hold onto a phone let alone type so I’m glad he’s with me to help me with all the technology. He even got me a GoPro harness so sometimes he gets to see what things are like from my point of view!
Dog O’Day: If you could be another breed for a week, what would you pick and why?
Holland the Pup: Hmmm…I really think I like myself just the way I am…not too big and not too small.
Dog O’Day: Are there any dogs (alive or historical) that you look up to, and if so, how come?
Holland the Pup: I fell in love with Bark-Andre Furry during the 2017-2018 playoff season. I thought my Lightning were going to play Vegas for the Stanley Cup and when I caught wind of Bark it was kind of love at first sight. He inspired me to ask my dad for my new hockey sweater that my dad had custom made on the Shop NHL website. It’s a cool youth official Fanatics jersey that has my name and favorite number on it.
Holland on why hockey is amazing
Dog O’Day: What celebrity or celebrity dog would you like to meet someday?
Holland the Pup: We plan on going to several more arenas this season (did you know I’m on a mission to visit them all?) and I can’t wait to meet Rookie the Sens Pup when we are in Ottawa. I’ve already reached out to him, so I hope our schedules don’t conflict and we can make it happen.
I loved meeting my idol Bark-Andre Furry last year in Vegas.
As far as human celebrities, I had the chance to meet Erik Karlsson when we were on a walk outside Amalie Arena a couple years ago. I kept telling my dad to convince him to sign with Tampa, but my dad said that wasn’t polite or something like that. Erik’s hair is even more glamorous in person! I’d also love to meet some legends like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
My favorite player on the Lightning this season is Luke Witkowski. He’s from Holland, Michigan, and his Instagram photo is of him and his dog – and his Instagram handle is @TheHollandNative – what’s not to love about that? And he has some pretty cool hair.
Dog O’Day: Who among the dogs of Instagram would you enjoy meeting?
Holland the Pup: I’m actually pretty new to Instagram and just starting to follow more and more dogs of Instagram. I’d love to meet any hockey dog, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to meet Bolt, the new Tampa Bay Lightning service dog, when I get back to Tampa.
Dog O’Day: Do you ever watch any dogcentric events or content on TV?
Holland the Pup: I don’t, right now. I usually watch food shows or sports with my dad. Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to use the remote control so I can watch more. I may need to Google the age required to be in the Puppy Bowl before the Super Bowl. I may have missed my window on that one, but that would have been rad.
Dog O’Day: As a rescue pup, what do you wish people knew about rescue dogs?
Holland the Pup: I remember the day my dad came in to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and he seemed to love me, but also seemed nervous and a little bit scared. That made me scared that he was going to leave without me, but something must have clicked inside of him because he ended up taking a chance on me.
If someone is considering a rescue pet, I say go ahead and take the chance! He tells me I’m his best friend…maybe you’ll find your new best friend, too!
Dog O’Day: Why do you think hockey and dogs go so well together?
Holland the Pup: I love hockey because all the players seem so chill and down to earth. I am following lots of players on Instagram and it looks like a lot of players even have dogs of their own. They must give lots of love to their dads after a long day at the rink. I think it’s just that…dogs and hockey players are pretty chill, like to have fun, and like to be goofy. It’s a perfect match!
We agree with her! If you’d like to become a part of the Dog O’Day pack as a contributor, then please apply here. We’d love to have you! Also be sure to check our interviews with Rookie the Batdog and Sir Winston Da Doodle.
The Lightning kick off their 2019-20 season at home on Thursday, October 3, at 6 p.m. ET against their in-state rivals the Florida Panthers.