Breeze® Ball

It started out like any other warm summer day in Arizona when Thaïs Zoé and her dog, Vito, excitedly made their way to the local dog park. The two were eager to take advantage of an unseasonably beautiful, overcast 82-degree morning, but after just twenty minutes of playing fetch, Vito suddenly collapsed.                                       

Thaïs rushed him to the emergency vet. She was stunned to discover Vito had a temperature of 106 and was diagnosed with heatstroke. With his organs in danger of shutting down, the vets worked quickly to bring Vito’s temperature down, and thankfully, he made a full recovery.

After the scary incident, Thaïs struggled to continue life as usual. “The shock didn’t fade easily,” she explained. She couldn’t understand how Vito became overheated so quickly, especially on an overcast day when he had access to plenty of clean water. “It didn’t make sense,” she said, “it wasn’t that hot.”

Determined to spare Vito from ever going through such an ordeal again, Thaïs sought a solution. Even though she knew dogs have no evaporative cooling and are essentially walking around with a scuba suit on, the reason for his distress still didn’t connect.

A toy in the mouth that disrupts a dog’s cooling mechanism is a recipe for disaster, especially during outdoor play. Through her research, Thaïs learned that it doesn’t have to be hot for dogs to overheat, which is why optimizing airflow, no matter the weather, is vital.

“That’s when it clicked. I noticed Vito’s favorite ball blocked much of his airway and of course covered his tongue,” Thaïs said. “I knew dogs primarily cooled through their ears, paw pads and mouth, but I had no idea the primary function for regulating their temperature were the receptors not just on their tongue, but down their esophagus and in their lungs. Unfortunately, most balls for dogs don’t consider this science.”

When toys on the market claiming to be “breathable” didn’t have all the features she was looking for, Thaïs relied on the creativity instilled in her as the child of two professional artists to invent a ball that would be perfect for dogs like Vito: one that had holes but still floated, had plenty of bounce, and wasn’t easy to destroy. “Using the ball he had on the day of his heatstroke, I grabbed a drill, a router, and a soldering iron to create the first Breeze® Ball prototype.”

Her invention was a hit with Vito, but she knew that to achieve her dream of giving dogs everywhere “a safer, smarter play experience” she was going to need help.

“The process was long,” she explained. “I approached several top pet product companies and, while they wanted innovation, weren’t prepared to invest in the process of developing something truly new. To my great fortune, my number one choice was Multipet, and they said yes.”

Multipet International, Inc., a leader in the pet industry best known for their beloved Lamb Chop® toy, were touched by Thaïs and Vito’s story and agreed to bring her vision of Breeze® Ball to life.  

Laura DeWitt, Product Development Manager at Multipet said “I am an animal lover through and through – always have been. As soon as I heard Thaïs’s story, my only question was ‘When would you like to get started?’”

Striving for perfection, Laura and Thaïs worked for over a year developing the final Breeze® Ball. It not only had to bounce, float, and stand up to tough chewers, but most importantly it had to have the right ergonomic technology to make it truly breathable.

“Creating Breeze® Ball has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my life,” Thaïs said. “It honors who I’ve become, the people who shaped me, and most importantly, Vito’s legacy.”

To learn more about Breeze® Ball, visit www.multipet.com/shop/breeze-ball/

Article by: Amy Yakomin