Our Story
Born in the Jackson Hole wilderness, Rex Specs is built on the principle that life is better together.
Aiden and Jesse Emilo started thinking about protective eyewear for active dogs when both of their pups, Yaz, an 11-year old white husky, and Tuckerman, a then 7-year old German shepherd mix, started developing eye problems.
Living in a town that nestles itself 6,000 feet above sea level, being so close to the sun was giving Yaz’s blue eyes a sunburn and Tuckerman was diagnosed with Pannus – a progressive, inflammatory disease of the cornea.
In order to continue taking them on outdoor adventures, they were recommended to try other dog goggles that frankly, didn’t cut it. So, they started making their own.
In 2015, after a few years of developing prototypes – often with scissors and super glue – the duo founded Rex Specs and launched with protective eyewear.
Whatever outdoor excursions you do with your dogs, life is better together.
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NPR Feature
In June of last year Rex Specs co-founders, Aiden and Jesse Emilo, were featured on the postscript of NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz. Aiden talks about how the idea for UV-eye protection for their dogs came to be and the scraped together prototype her husband, Jesse, created. Hear more about how they found funding and brought the product to the masses in the below episode (“How I Built That,” the postscript show starts at 32:00). -