Meet Got Your Back: The Quirky Koala Stethoscope Charm That Supports Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation.
05, October 2021 - Melbourne, Australia: This week, premium scrubs and medical apparel company, Dr. Woof Apparel launched a limited edition ‘Got Your Back’ stethoscope charm, in partnership with renowned veterinarian, Dr. Marlena Lopez. The charm, which features two koalas, is the latest addition to the #OperationWoof collection which aims to support charitable causes and celebrate artists, educators and creatives in the medical community.
The Got Your Back Stethoscope Charm
As part of #OperationWoof’s mission to support charitable causes, Dr. Woof Apparel will donate $5AUD (~$3.50USD) for every ‘Got Your Back’ charm sold to Vets For Compassion, an Australian not-for-profit organisation with a mission to protect and improve animal welfare in Australia and across the world.
The quirky charm, which attaches to any stethoscope, was designed by Dr. Lopez and the Dr. Woof co-founders in hopes of sparking conversations about animal welfare and Vets For Compassion and giving veterinary professionals an opening to encourage their colleagues to volunteer for the worthy cause.
Source: Vets for Compassion
Commenting on the launch, Dr. Woof Apparel co-founder, Dr. Ron See, DVM, said: “We created ‘Got Your Back’ with Dr. Lopez as part of #OperationWoof our mission to make the medical world smile. Through #OperationWoof we make an effort to support causes that the medical community cares about. For this project, we knew that we wanted to support wildlife rehabilitation and Vets For Compassion was a perfect fit. Every year their amazing veterinary volunteers have the back of hundreds of injured Aussie animals, including koalas. We have a deep respect for the work they do, and so do our community.”
Vets For Compassion’s founder Dr. Elaine Ong comments on the initiative: “We are so humbled that the team at Dr. Woof Apparel and Dr. Lopez have chosen to support Vets For Compassion with this initiative. Our team is made up of all volunteers, from the on the ground rescuers, veterinarians, vet nurses, darters and drone pilots, through to the behind the scenes staff. It is the generosity of our supporters and donations like these that enable us to continue our work to alleviate the suffering of animals in need of our help.
“Part of our mission is to educate as many people as possible about animal welfare. As urban development continues to sprawl, the tragic inevitably is that more interactions and accidents with wildlife will occur. We want to spread the word as far as possible about the importance of protecting these vulnerable animals, and initiatives like #OperationWoof play an integral part in making that happen.”
To celebrate the launch, Dr. Lopez has created a viral social media campaign, designed to inspire and encourage young vets to become Vets For Compassion volunteers.
Dr. Marlena Lopez: Charm Co-designer & Launch Organiser
Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Woof co-founder, Dr. See said: “One of our favourite things about this project is that we had the opportunity to work with Dr. Lopez — a leader and role model in the vet community. The volunteer sign-up campaign she created for the ‘Got Your Back’ launch has allowed the charm to create an impact beyond the donations being generated by its sale.”
Dr. Lopez comments on the supporting campaign: “People love the charm, and since a portion of each sale goes towards wildlife rehabilitation, they're happy to post about it and raise awareness about the worthy cause. With our selected group of social media influencers and role models within the veterinary profession, we have a collective reach of over 300 thousand followers for the campaign.
“Equipping veterinary professionals with the resources to better help animals in need is something we are very passionate about and it's great to have so many others stepping in to help!"
The ‘Got Your Back’ stethoscope charm is available to purchase from the Dr. Woof Website $5AUD (~$3.50USD) of each purchase will be donated to Vets For Compassion.
To donate to Vets For Compassion and for information about how you can become a volunteer, visit https://vetsforcompassion.org/volunteer/