What's with the two white stripes?
Let others know you've rescued and inspire them to do the same.
It's a fact that a person is more likely to adopt a dog after seeing that others already have.
Easily seen from across the street or at a dog park, the signature two white stripes are meant to:
#1 Show others that you chose to adopt your dog.
#2 Share your dog's rescue story.
#3 Inspire more people to adopt a rescue dog, helping more dogs find their forever home.
All of this boils down to one goal: spark someone's decision to adopt their next canine companion without having to say a word. Together, we're going to make it so no one has to tell people "you should adopt a dog"...we're going to ask them "why wouldn't you want to?"
#STRIPESQUAD
There's more to it...
What's with the two white stripes?
Let others know you've rescued and inspire them to do the same.
It's a fact that a person is more likely to rescue after seeing others do it. The stripes are the secret weapon to helping more dogs find homes by inspiring more people to do what you did. Easily seen from across the street or at a dog park, our signature two white stripes are a symbol to let others know:
1. You chose to rescue.
2. Your dog is a rescue.
3. Show all the different shapes, sizes and breeds our awesome rescue dogs come in.
All of this with the goal that you'll spark someone's decision to rescue a furry companion without having to say a word. Let's make the choice to adopt and rescue mainstream and finding more dogs forever homes a no brainer. #STRIPESQUAD
There's more to it...
STRIPE SUPPORTERS
You’re proud that you chose to adopt your dog.
It's ok to admit it. Because you should be!!
It only takes a brief Google search to know that adopting a rescue dog isn’t something that everyone is capable of doing.
Rescuing a dog takes a specific type of person and level of dedication that many people don’t have.
But you do!
Oh and let's not forget...you SAVED a LIFE!
Saved. A. Freaking. Life!
That’s superhero level stuff. Forreal.
That settles it then: there is definitely nothing wrong with being proud that you’ve rescued your dog and wanting to share that you’ve done so with others. In fact, you SHOULD let people know that your dog is a rescue and share your dog’s rescue story!
Because believe it or not, hearing your dog’s rescue story and seeing the happiness and love that comes with having a rescue dog will inspire people to choose to adopt their next dog.
I learned this fact throughout the 9 years I worked in veterinary medicine by asking first-time rescue dog owners why they chose to adopt a dog over buying from a breeder. Every single one of them stated that, for a variety of reasons, they hadn't considered adopting a dog until they learned about someone else having done so first.
And over time, as they kept hearing more and more rescue stories and seeing the amazing dogs that came from them, the desire of adopting a dog grew more and more.
Thinking about how reviews or recommendations work, it makes sense.
When you hear about a new product or service that lines up with your interests or needs, you become interested. As you keep hearing from people how great it is, you will eventually end up buying it. It's the same as checking out the Amazon reviews before you commit to buying something.
Basically, letting other people know your dog is a rescue, and sharing his/her story, is like leaving a 5-star positive review for adopting rescue dogs.
Here's where most of you will ask, "Why on earth would people need positive reviews to adopt a dog?!"
Even though you might think the positive outcome of adopting a dog is super obvious, many others don't see it that way.
Thanks to the misguided stigmas surrounding shelter or rescue dogs, a lot of people aren't aware that they come in all breeds (yes, even pure ones) and can have any temperament. They just assume any purebred looking, well-socialized dogs can only be from a breeder and have been in the same loving home their entire lives.
Negativity, such as the shame and guilt that unfortunately does get thrown at people from some groups in the "rescue world", can easily cause people to avoid the possibility of adopting altogether. Which is why we need to just let them know what they're missing out on if they don't choose to adopt their dog. 😉
All of this just means that the more you share your dog's story with, or let people know that your fantastic dog was adopted, the more people you will inspire.
Imagine how it would feel, knowing you're saving hundreds more dogs' lives by creating more homes for them by inspiring more people to adopt their next dog. Ultra superhero level stuff, right there.
But how can that inspiration strike unless they know your dog was adopted?
As a rescue dog owner, you know that they come in all breeds, temperament, health, age, and come from all sorts of backgrounds. You know that there's no way to correctly identify a dog as a rescue and know its history based on its appearance or behavior alone.
Soooo...other than trying to tell every single person that smiles at your dog that he/she is a rescue, how else are you going to let people know you adopted your dog and inspire them to do the same?
Putting something on your dog's leash and/or collar is the most efficient non-verbal way to signify your dog as a rescue. But it has to be big enough to be distinguishable from far away, yet small enough to fit on a leash. Plus...is there even a symbol for letting others know that your dog is a rescue?
There is now.