Rudy’s Story

The little dog behind SafePawz

Rudy wasn’t just our dog. He was a huge part of our family, a little character with an enormous personality, and one of the bravest dogs we have ever known.

Throughout his life, Rudy faced more than his fair share of challenges. He underwent treatment for a liver shunt and kidney stones, and later developed intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), which initially left him paralysed in his back legs.

But Rudy was a fighter.

With treatment, care and his sheer determination, he made an incredible 95% recovery from IVDD. Watching him get back on his feet and enjoy life again was something we will never forget. After everything he had overcome, we genuinely believed our little boy could fight through anything.

Then something happened that we could never have imagined.

Rudy swallowed a squeaker from a dog toy.

He became seriously ill and needed emergency surgery. Following the operation, he developed septic peritonitis, a life-threatening infection, and we were told that he had only a 50/50 chance of surviving.

We knew how serious it was, but after watching Rudy overcome so much throughout his life, there was no question in our minds that we had to give him every possible chance.

For five days, Rudy remained in intensive care.

Those five days are something our family will never forget. We lived from one telephone call to the next, feeling physically sick every time the phone rang, knowing that the person on the other end could be bringing us hope — or the news we were desperately frightened to hear.

Rudy was receiving extensive treatment and, true to his character, he fought with everything he had.

But this time, his little body simply couldn’t fight any longer.

Rudy crossed the rainbow bridge on 21 September 2023.

We were completely heartbroken.

After everything he had survived — the operations, the illness and learning to walk again — it was devastating to lose him because he had swallowed a squeaker from a toy.

For a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to tell Rudy’s story publicly. Losing him was simply too painful.

But eventually I realised that perhaps something positive could come from something that had caused our family so much heartbreak.

I wanted other dog owners to know Rudy’s story. I wanted to raise awareness of the potential risks associated with loose squeakers. And, most importantly, I wanted to create thoughtfully designed alternatives for owners who would prefer their dogs to play without them.

That is why I created SafePawz.

SafePawz is built around a simple philosophy:

Care. Protect. Love.

Our toys are designed without squeakers, with alternative sensory features such as crinkle, and with safety and thoughtful design at the heart of what we do.

And there was only ever going to be one dog who started the story.

Our very first SafePawz toy is Rudy — a squeaker-free plush miniature dachshund created in memory of the little dog who inspired everything.

Rudy's genuine paw print is incorporated into the SafePawz branding, so wherever this journey takes us, a little piece of him will always be there.

Every Rudy toy that finds its way into another dog's home carries his story forward.

What began with heartbreak has become a promise to do something positive in his memory — to raise awareness, encourage safer play and give dog owners another choice.

Rudy was our little fighter. SafePawz is his legacy. ❤️🐾