Wilderdog’s Purchase for a Pup (P4aP) program donates one cup of kibble to a rescue or shelter for every purchase made. Created in 2015, the program has helped shelters and rescues across the country care for dogs in need by providing food and supporting adoption efforts. This year, P4aP reached an exciting milestone, passing $500,000 donated since the program’s start. Those funds have filled food bowls, supported medical treatments, and helped countless dogs on their journey to new homes.
Here is a conversation with Wilderdog co-founder Rachel Friedline about the Purchase for a Pup program’s journey, its impact, and how it’s helping dogs find their forever homes.
Could you introduce yourself and share a bit about your role at Wilderdog?
Sure! My name is Rachel, and I’m one of the three co-founders of Wilderdog. We started the company back in 2015, and as we’re still a pretty small team, I wear a lot of hats. I manage product design through launch, website, email, wholesale, customer service, partnerships, ambassador program, P4aP program, organic social, and handle a lot of the day-to-day operations. Basically, I’m involved in a little bit of all of it!
For anyone who hasn’t heard of it before, what is the quick overview of the Purchase for a Pup program?
We are incredibly proud of our Purchase for a Pound program. For every purchase made on wilderdog.com, we donate one cup of kibble (up to a dollar per pound). Each month, we choose a new shelter or rescue to receive that month’s donation.
We donate whatever specific kibble the shelter or rescue requests, because we know how important it is to keep dogs on the same food for their digestion.
Supporting adoption and rescue work is a huge value for us. As much as we’d love to, we can’t personally adopt every dog that needs a home, but there are so many incredible people working in rescue, and this is our way of supporting them. By covering food costs, those shelters and rescues can redirect funds toward medical care, adoption events, and other vital needs.
Did the program start at the same time as Wilderdog?
We launched P4aP within the first few months of starting the company. It just came from seeing how overwhelming the need was at shelters and rescues and wanting to do something meaningful to help. Here is one of our first donations to Butte Humane Society (We started out as Wolfpack Supply) -
What was it like getting the program off the ground? Were there challenges early on?
Definitely. In the beginning, one big challenge was simply getting shelters and rescues to respond to my emails! Many organizations are extremely underfunded and rely on volunteers with limited time, so when someone emails saying, “I want to send you free kibble!”, it can sound like a scam.
But things have changed over time. Now that we’ve been doing this for 10 years and have worked with so many wonderful organizations, the program is well-known and trusted. Shelters love to publicize our partnerships, and now we receive an overwhelming number of applications from groups who want to participate. It took a few years to build that trust, but the program runs pretty smoothly now.
What does the process look like from start to finish when you partner with an organization?
Once we’ve chosen a shelter or rescue for the month, we focus not only on donating food but also on helping dogs get adopted. We love showcasing specific dogs on our social media, emails, and website. Sometimes, with larger organizations, the turnover is so quick that dogs come and go within days, which is amazing. In those cases, we’re happy to share as many dogs as they want to send us.
We also include adoption stories in other ways. Each month, we print cards that ship with every order, letting customers know where the donations are going. We like to feature a photo of an adoptable dog on those cards. Occasionally the dog is adopted before the cards even go out, which is the best possible outcome. We really hope that extra visibility helps get them noticed.
I always follow up with the shelter after the month ends to see how things went, and nine times out of ten, the featured dogs have been adopted. We might never know if our posts or cards directly made the difference, but it’s always rewarding to think we may have helped get more eyes on them. And I absolutely love seeing those “freedom ride” photos of dogs heading to their new homes.
You’ve mentioned rescue dogs are close to your heart. Can you share a bit about your own dogs?
I’ve always been passionate about adoption, simply because there are so many dogs waiting in shelters for loving homes. As an adult, I’ve had two amazing rescue dogs. Charlie lived to a grand old age of 15 and a half, and we adopted him when he was two. Bucci lived to 13, after an astonishing four year battle with cancer. They were both incredible companions.
Right now, I have a dog named Gus. He came from an accidental litter on a friend's Idaho cattle ranch. None of the ranchers wanted him because he was “too lazy” for a Border Collie, and his next stop would have been an auction. Charlie had just passed, and I wasn’t quite ready for another dog, but I knew I wanted a Border Collie mix at some point in the near future. After seeing Gus posted a number of times on social media, I agreed to take him on the condition that the ranchers spay the mama dog, which they did! So while Gus didn’t come from a shelter, I still feel like it was a win-win situation. And honestly, a lazy Border Collie is kind of my dream dog. He can turn it on when needed, but he’s also a chiller.
How has your perspective on rescues and shelters changed since starting Wilderdog?
Unlike shelters, where you can often just walk in and adopt a dog the same day, rescues usually have a more extensive application and interview process. The rescue volunteers invest so much time and money in rescuing and rehabilitating animals that they want to be absolutely certain they’re placing them in the best possible situation. And sometimes they can take a bit of time to respond because they’re juggling their actual paying jobs and other human responsibilities.
Also, if you’re applying for a super sought after dog, like a Golden Retriever puppy, there’s a good chance you’re one of many applicants. Patience is key when choosing to adopt from a rescue. It’ll be worth it! I promise!
Wilderdog recently passed a huge milestone: $500,000 donated since 2015. Did you imagine the program would grow this much?
Honestly, no. I tend to take things day by day. I celebrate the wins as they come but try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking about what might happen down the road. If someone had told me 10 years ago that we’d still be running this program today and would have donated half a million dollars, I think I’d have been shocked!
Are there any particular shelters or stories that have really stuck with you?
I always love a great happy-ending rescue story, like any one of Expedition Ola’s street dog rescues. One of my favorite rescue programs is called Mountain Buddies run by The Pet Network, which is our October Purchase for a Pup recipient. It’s based on a program from the Hawai’i Humane Society and lets people “check out” a dog for the day and take them on an adventure. It’s such a great way to give dogs a break from the shelter environment and introduce them to potential adopters in a more relaxed atmosphere. I took one dog on a hike to Monkey Rock and then out for a beer afterward, and it was such a fun experience for both of us. Programs like that take a lot of work to organize, but they make a big difference.
There are so many adoption stories over the years that mean a lot. Any time we get an email saying a dog has found a home and that our post may have helped, it’s a huge moment for us.
What’s the farthest or most unique rescue you’ve worked with?
Most of our customers are in the U.S., and so we like to focus our support here in our customer’s communities. But one of the most unique partnerships recently was with The Saipan Humane Society in Saipan: a U.S. territory near Guam. A woman named Lauren was there and couldn’t ignore the stray dog epidemic on the island. There was only one small, underfunded clinic on the island that couldn’t keep up. She started feeding the dogs and providing basic care, then went back to the U.S. for vet school so she could return as the island’s veterinarian. That story blew me away, and it felt amazing to support her work.
Looking ahead, now that you’ve reached the half-million mark, what’s next for your work with rescues and shelters?
I’d love for the program to grow and have an even bigger impact. Right now, the program revolves around sending a check, and while that’s important and necessary, I’d love to find ways to be more directly involved in helping dogs get adopted. I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but I’m open to new ideas and excited about the future!
What’s the most rewarding part of running this program for you?
Early on, we used to deliver the dog food ourselves. We’d load it into our cars and drive it to the shelters. It was time-consuming and exhausting, but it felt amazing to see the shelves stocked and meet the dogs and people we were helping. Now that the program is larger, we can’t fit pallets of food in the trunk anymore, and sometimes just sending a check feels a little less personal. But when shelters send us photos of their restocked kibble supply or of food drives they’ve been able to run, that’s an incredible feeling. And of course, seeing those freedom ride photos of dogs heading to their new homes is the best reward of all.
How has running this program changed the way you think about the pet world or rescues in general?
One of the reasons we started Wilderdog was to encourage people to get outside and adventure with their dogs. Too many dogs spend most of their lives in a laundry room or a crate, and that’s heartbreaking. Over time, though, I’ve become more understanding of how complex people’s lives can be. I’ve gotten older, I’ve had a child, and I’m now more sympathetic to the idea that people are at all different seasons of their lives and the number of hours they can provide a dog each day can fluctuate. I do believe that most people are good, and want to do well by their animals though. And for a dog stuck in a shelter, even an imperfect home can be better than a “perfect” one that might never come.
If a rescue wants to be part of Purchase for a Pup, how can they apply?
They can go to www.wilderdog.com/pages/purchase-for-a-pup and fill out the application form to become a future Purchase for a Pup recipient. We review all the applications, and hopefully they’ll be chosen for an upcoming month.
