September 12, 2013 – Strongsville, OH — When an otherwise obedient golden retriever repeatedly chose tug of war over a pleasant neighborhood walk, dog owner Bonnie Sweebe knew that there was more to her dog’s feisty behavior than willful disobedience. Seeing no good solution in the market for her particular problem, Bonnie and her son Zack set out to design a product of their own.
“Our dog is usually very obedient,” said Bonnie, “except when it’s time for a walk. She gets so excited that she can’t concentrate. Before LeashPals, she would bite, pull and tug on the leash. It got so bad that we couldn’t even make it out of the driveway. One day, I offered her a plush toy, hoping it would act as a pacifier. She let go of the leash and—to my surprise—her behavior improved dramatically. Our neighbors think she looks adorable carrying her plush bone, but little do they know that it’s the only way to get her to walk without biting her leash! The idea worked like a charm until she would drop the toy and I had to carry the slimy, dirty thing all the way home.”
“The plush toy just wasn’t enough,” said Zack, “We needed a way to keep the toy clean and within our dogs’ reach. LeashPals works by keeping the toy suspended above ground, while allowing the dogs the freedom to choose when they want to hold something in their mouths or not. We found that given the choice between a leash and a toy, the dogs much prefer holding the toy.”
The two invented LeashPals, the first dog toy tether to help excited and/or anxious dogs regain focus and enjoy walking again. It consists of a specially-designed clip that attaches to a dog’s nylon leash or collar, and an adjustable strap for attaching a variety of plush toys. For dogs who like plush toys, LeashPals calms them down quickly and easily — just like a pacifier.
“We’ve really made an effort to do this right,” said Bonnie. “We did extensive product research, filed the proper patents, secured the trademark and selected a great group people to bring this product to life. LeashPals has been American-made every step of the way, from our product designers who typically create medical-grade devices, to our consulting professor of Polymer Science who proved that the plastic we chose for our product would be 100% pet-safe. We even sourced our product assembly from a team of workers in a nearby suburb. It was a real labor of love.”
To offset the high up-front costs of production, they are raising money on Kickstarter.com, a crowdfunding website where inventors do not receive funding unless they meet their project goal.
Help LeashPals reach their goal at: http://kck.st/17tOnVl
If you would like more information about LeashPals, would like to run a story or conduct an interview, please contact Bonnie Sweebe (bonniesweebe@gmail.com) or Zack Sweebe (sweebez@gmail.com).
