In the early 2000s, our family left San Francisco to spend summers at an old miner’s cabin deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our little dogs, Daisy (a Maltese) and Marie (a Chihuahua–Pug mix), suddenly found themselves in a place filled with birds of prey, something we rarely had to consider while in the city. Our bigger dogs were fine but it was clear the little ones might be seen as an easy meal from the sky. 

So I started experimenting.

Using materials known to trigger a strong instinctual avoidance response in birds I created the first pair of ScareWings. The original pair (shown here) are battered from years of daily use in rain, sun, and mountain weather.

Over time, I refined the design, improving both durability and ease of use. At first I was thinking I could provide instructions for folks to make their own ScareWings but after talking with rescue organizations and pet professionals the consensus was clear: people preferred the option to simply purchase them. 

If your pet is vulnerable to birds of prey, I hope you’ll consider purchasing ScareWings. I believe they save lives (see story below). While we cannot guarantee your pets safety we do know that ScareWings are a powerful deterrent and  an added layer of protection from hawks, owls, eagles, osprey and other predatory raptors.