Instructions
We are caring for sheltered dogs one tug toy at a time.
First and foremost,
thank you
Thank you. Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, about 3.3 million are dogs, and 3.2 million are cats. The good news is that we estimate the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters yearly has declined from 7.2 million. The sharpest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.3 million).
Why Tug Toys?
For dogs, long hours in a shelter require many hours of entertainment. Unfortunately, most commercial tug toys are only made for medium to large dogs and from materials that can often be hard on a dog’s teeth, causing dental and health issues at the time of adoption. Fleece toys, however, can be made for any size dog, and they’re soft. Plus, the friction of the cloth against a dog’s teeth helps keep them clean! Maybe we should all start chewing on fleece tug toys?!
Instructions
We work to keep things as simple as possible. If you have any questions, please get in touch with your event coordinator or reach out to “Kai” (WeHero Super Dog) in the lower-right corner of this page.
Raise the Woof
Step 1: Cut your fleece
Within each pack, you should have received the following:
Fleece - 1
Scissors - 1
WeHero Cut Card - 1
Safety Pin - 3
Dog Treat - 3
Letter Stationary - 1
Use the cut card provided to cut 4 x (3" wide and 45" long) lengths of fleece fabric (ideal for a medium-sized dog).The fleece provided should be equivalent to three fleece toys of this size.
Keep your cuts smooth and of equal width by laying the fleece flat on a table and cut with the bottom of the scissors gliding along the table while the other hand holds the fleece tight.Tie a regular overhand knot at one end, leaving a few inches of fabric as a tail. Pull the knot tight.
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Step 2: Create your box knots!
The box knot
1. Spread out four fleece pieces in a cross pattern.
2. Starting with the strip closest to you, drape it over the fleece stripe on the left.
3. Then, drape the left strip over the top fleece strip.
4. Next, drape the top strip and drape it over the fleece on the right side.
5. Lastly, take the fleece strip from the right, and tuck it in the loop made by the first fleece strip.
6. Gently pull on the strips alternating between fleece strips across all sides, giving it a square shape.
7. Tighten the strips, until they are snug.
8. You’ve officially created your first square knot!
9. Repeat braiding. You should begin to see the beginnings of your tug-toy pattern. Continue knotting until you’ve reached your desired toy length. Make sure to leave enough fleece materials to knot the end tightly.
Key points
- The tighter you make the stitches, the longer they will last for the dogs.
- Don’t worry if you have different lengths of toys. Small dogs need small toy love too!
Tie your toy
Once reached the desired length, tie off the tug toy, similar to the overhand knot made to tie all the fleece strips together.
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Step 3: Re-box and apply the shipping label
Using the original box everything came in, add the completed tug toys and reseal. Attach the prepaid shipping label and schedule your USPS pickup. You can also drop your box off at your local post office. To schedule your pickup, simply use the following link and follow the steps: www.wehero.co/pick-up/
Note: If the system asks for weight, you can enter 6 pounds and the shipping provider will update the weight automatically.
Step 6: Photo time!
Take a photo of yourself with your completed tug toy and share the experience with your friends and family. This is an opportunity to spread awareness and share the act of kindness. Be sure to tag WeHero when you post on social media!
You've successfully completed your Raise the Woof experience!
Nice work! Now what?
We’d love your thoughts!
Have 32 seconds? We always want to make these experiences better and would love your feedback.
Learn more about ASPCA
Visit the ASPCA website to learn more about their mission and how you can continue supporting them.
Recycling is hard so we made it easier!
We build our volunteer events to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Whether it is offsetting the carbon emissions of the shipping process, or creating a recycling guide, we’ve want to make sustainability easy!
How we offset our carbon footprint
We have partnered with Cool Effect on The Mare Chicose landfill project in Mauritius to reduce methane emissions, generate electricity, create jobs, and promote sustainable development. Investing in the project helps reduce our carbon footprint and support global climate change mitigation.
Have questions about your experience?
We’re here to help!
Get in touch with us here or give us a call. Feel free to also chat with Kai and he’ll fetch a member of our team to help!
