OUR STORY
George and Bethie are the inspiration for the kids clothing line for George and Bethie, a line from our
Be Kind to the Animal Planet company. They both live in Southern California and have brothers and sisters who are also featured every now and then on designs. They are both rescues: George was rescued from the streets as a very sick little puppy, and Bethie was saved from being put to sleep at the Downey Animal Shelter in CA as she had a little cold, and that sometimes warrants a death sentence for shelter pets. She was just a tiny kitten and had her whole life ahead of her.
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The original inspiration for Be Kind to the Animal Planet was inspired by the original five of my little loves: Jack, Sebastian, Sam, Mimi and Chloe. The idea was to create cartoon versions of them and create a line of clothing for kids with messages of adopting a shelter pet, being eco-friendly, rescuing and saving animal lives. Added in was a ficticious character, a little bird names Lulubelle, who was representing all the little birds I had growing up. The whole concept was bounced around over the years, but life always had a plan of its own, and the idea had to be put aside for awhile.
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Since then, the original five have passed away, but their inspiration is still with me every single day. Mimi was the last to pass away in August 2017, but I am going to keep their memory alive by incorporating them into designs. Along with them, I refer to current four-legged kids of mine and those belonging to friends and family.
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The message we hope to spread with our products is to "adopt, don't shop". There are millions of pets waiting to be loved, sitting on death row in our country's shelters, and we say death row because not every shelter is a no-kill shelter, so many just have a few days to find a home.
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We are against puppy mills and reckless breeders; there is no need to purchase a pet for thousands of dollars when you can find purebreds in shelters and also from specific breed rescues, if you are looking for a specific breed.
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At the end of the day, EVERY ANIMAL'S LIFE MATTERS! We should not have the right to kill any animal in our shelter system, or any animal for that matter.
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Part of the proceeds of our products go to animal rescues, some local and some global, as #RESCUEHASNOBORDERS .
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We hope to expand our line and update new products and designs for pets!
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Be Kind to the Animal Planet's first line is the George and Bethie Collection, and we plan on offering new lines in the coming seasons, including pet apparel and products, and more items for adults.
Thanks for visiting and we hope you will enjoy our items!
Julia Szkiba, creator/designer, with Sebastian, the love of my life