This Cute New Dog Toy Will Match Your VW ID Buzz, and Serve a Good Cause
A blue version of the famous VW Bus-inspired Kong dog toy is now on sale, and profits will benefit animal shelters nationwide. The post This Cute New Dog Toy Will Match Your VW ID Buzz, and Serve a Good Cause appeared first on The Drive.

Two titans of their respective industries have buddied up and gone to the dogs, but not in the way you’re thinking or who you’re thinking. The van life icon VW Bus and pet popular Kong Company have finally collaborated on a dog chew toy whose proceeds will go to animal shelters nationwide.
The specially designed VW KONG For a Cause dog toy is inspired by the VW ID.Buzz and finished in a distinctive cabana blue. Exclusively available via Volkswagen, the “while supplies last” chew toy retails for $13.99. The reason for the chewy collab is multi-fold: the reinvention of the Type 2 Bus as the ID.Buzz EV, the VW-Kong connection, and to celebrate puppies. Aww, puppies!
Sunday, March 23, is National Puppy Day, and 100% of the net proceeds from sales of the partnership chew toy will be donated to VCA Charities. The charitable arm of the Veterinary Centers of America, which now just goes by VCA, provides support to shelters and animal welfare organizations across the U.S. Buy a toy or adopt a furry family member. Either way, it’d be a happy weekend for a pupper.
But why choose Volkswagen and not another automaker? Because without VW, there’d be no Kong.
Among pet owners, particularly doggy dads and moms, Kong is famous for its snowman-shaped rubber chew toy, which was said to look like an earplug for King Kong — hence the company name. But its origin story includes a quirkier tidbit that involves none other than a VW Type 2 Bus.
As the legend goes, Fritz, the beloved dog of Kong founder Joe Markham had a destructive chewing habit. Sticks and stones and bones, Fritz gnawed them all. That is until he discovered the glories of a spare rubber axle stop from a VW van. Markham had been working on the vehicle when he threw out the bouncy suspension piece that Fritz happened to find endless drool-joyment in.
The part’s resemblance to Kong’s iconic chew toy is no coincidence. Markham actually attempted to order the VW part in bulk but couldn’t find the proper corporate contact. So, he designed one himself, and the rest is history.
This only begs the question as to why these two dog-friendly brands didn’t have a playdate sooner.
The post This Cute New Dog Toy Will Match Your VW ID Buzz, and Serve a Good Cause appeared first on The Drive.