Offering a variety of stylish and distinct
reflective safety-wear options for dogs
of all shapes and sizes, Spot the Dog’s
fashionably practical product line has won
over the hearts of dog owners across the
country. It all started in 1993, a few years
after Spot the Dog CEO Mark Brooks
left the hectic and bustling avenues
of New York City and moved to South
Hero Island in Northern Vermont with
his wife and business partner Mary
Powell. Mark says that from the very
first time Mary brought him up to her
family vacation home on Lake
Champlain, he “fell in love with
Vermont. It’s an incredible place. There
are so many wonderful communities
throughout the state that are filled with
such genuine and caring people.”
After moving to Vermont, Mary created the
first line of Spot the Dog products to help
better protect their dogs during hunting
season. When Spot the Dog officially
went into business a year later in 1994,
many of their friends were skeptical of the
growth potential behind the concept. Mark
explains that he and Mary “have always
had a lot of dogs. She wanted to create a
reflective safety vest for our dogs so that
they would be more visible to hunters, and
on any road with cars. When she started,
most people told her that she was crazy.
They thought that no one was going to
buy fluorescent protective wear for dogs,
but it turned out that they were completely
wrong. People really connected with the
products. It has been absolutely incredible
to witness the growth of the company over
the years.”
Available in a number of eye-catching
designs such as “Classic Orange” and
reflective red and green “Puppy Plaid”,
the current protective wear product line
includes a dashing assortment of reflective
vests, collars and bandanas. Mark
attributes Spot the Dog’s continued
success and adaptability to the visual
appeal of their products and the
continuous incorporation of customer
feedback into their research and design
process.
Mark says that when Spot the Dog was
originally founded, “there was nothing on
the market that occupied our niche. Years
later, there is still nobody that we’re aware
of that makes bandanas the way we make
them. For us, the formula for success has
always come down to a balanced mixture
of aesthetics and practicality: the product
has to look good and perform well. It has
to be both appealing and easy to attach.
Everything that we make is always tested
out on our dogs first. That’s where we find
our mistakes. That’s where we get our
development ideas. We look at it as part of
our growth.”
Mark explains, “We also like to incorporate
personal feedback from our friends,
our local community members, and our
customers. People have been wonderful
over the years in terms of telling us what
works and what doesn’t work for them.
It’s not uncommon for people to stop us
out in public in Vermont and ask about
our products when they see them on one
of our dogs. It works the other way, too.
Sometimes we’ll be out and about and see
one of our products on a dog walking by.
I often start conversations with people by
saying, ‘I see you’re using one of our
products. How is it?’ That’s one of the
things I love about Vermont: the people
are very honest. You can get instant
feedback and you can take that information
and continue to incorporate it into
your product development. It’s a wonderful
way to conduct research. As we continue
to incorporate this feedback into our design
changes over the years, the question
always remains: ‘How do you reflect the
largest amount of light possible while still
making a stylish and appealing product?’
What’s incredible is that if a dog goes into
a dark area with one of our products on
and you shine just the tiniest bit of light in
its direction, it just lights up brilliantly. The
light drives around the edges where we’ve
put the reflective piping and bounces off
of it with wonderfully intense brightness.”
As Spot the Dog expanded, their customer
base grew well past the confines of the
dense and rural forests of New England.
Feedback from their newfound suburban
and cosmopolitan clientele offered key
insight into the usefulness and versatility
of Spot the Dog products. As Mark points
out, “It’s not just about protecting the
dogs, it’s about protecting the owners, as
well. A lot of the time when people use
our products in suburban areas, they’re not
necessarily going out into the woods. They
may be in a park or out walking on the
street. Safety is important everywhere, no
matter where you go. Whether you’re walking
through the woods or running through
the city, having the ability to both see and
be seen is essential for peace of mind.”
When Spot the Dog’s products were
chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey’s “Favorite
Things” in 2019, the celebrity co-sign
helped Spot the Dog expand their market
reach even further. Mark describes the process
of working with Oprah’s organization
as “a wonderful opportunity. Oprah’s team
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