Unusual business on dog manikins

October 30th, 2008

What would you say if a friend of yours decides to start a business based on creating life-size models of pets? Seems silly for me… But to Craig Jones, a former emergency response instructor, it made perfect sense!

Jones sensed a business opportunity after completing a pet first-aid class with the American Red Cross. He discovered that the unrealistic dog manikin they used for training was offered by only one company in the U.S.

Jones knew that his background in emergency medicine for humans toghether with his contacts in the special-effects industry, were the resources he needed to create lifelike animal manikins. Together with his wife and co-founder, Jacqui Pruneda, 39, Jones began designing a true-to-life dog manikin that would fit the training needs of veterinary professionals.

In 1998 Rescue Critters’ first dog manikin, was born in the couple’s garage. The American Red Cross became their first customer and response was so positive that word soon spread throughout the veterinary field. Other manikins quickly followed: Fluffy the cat; Lucky, a life-size rescue training horse; and Critical Care Jerry and Fluffy, more advanced versions of the originals that train students in life-saving techniques. Primate manikins, birds with real feathers for trimming, and manikins that let users draw blood are in the works.

Rescue Critters has since moved from its garage location to a storefront and now sells its manikins to customers worldwide, including veterinary technician programs, fire departments, U.S. Army canine hospital units and police department K-9 units. With 20 to 25 requests per year for manikins and projected sales of $1.3 million, it seems like Jones’ idea wasn’t so silly after all.

http://www.rescuecritters.com/

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