The story behind Lifeline Collars
A 24/7 SOS lifeline for seniors,
built out of one neighbour's loudest week.
Lifeline Collars turns the collar a dog already wears into an always-on personal alarm — a single discreet button that puts a senior in touch with emergency services the moment something feels wrong. It began as one idea, in one workshop, after one incident a few streets over.
No senior living alone should face an emergency without help.
The WA incident
The idea for Lifeline Collars was born after elderly residents nearby were broken into and assaulted.
The idea for Lifeline Collars was born after elderly residents nearby were broken into and assaulted. Their dog was home with them — and the dog, wearing its everyday collar, became the missing link.
Deb, our founder, has spent years in the Western Australian handmade BioThane and paracord collar trade and saw first-hand how many of her customers are older Australians living alone with a beloved pet. Personal alarms are a well-known category for seniors — but only when they are carried. Our bet is simple: if the help button lives on the collar the dog is already wearing, it cannot be left on the kitchen bench on a bad day.
We are not building a pendant. We are not asking anyone to remember to charge a fob. We are adding one discreet button to a collar that is already part of the morning routine — and then making sure it works when the power is out, the phone is in another room, and it is dark.
“A discreet, wearable line to help — without asking seniors to remember to carry a separate device.”
- Where
- Western Australia
- Trigger
- Local incident involving elderly residents
- Insight
- The dog's everyday collar became the missing link
- Mission
- No senior living alone should face an emergency without help
- Stage
- Pre-launch prototype
Why a collar works
The dog was already the answer. We just had to put a button on it.
Three reasons the collar is the right surface for a personal alarm — and why a separate pendant was never going to be the answer for the seniors we are building this for.
No new device to remember.
The dog is with the senior around the house already — on the couch, under the verandah, asleep at the end of the bed. Whatever room the person is in, the collar is in.
Already part of the routine.
A collar that goes on for the morning walk is one a senior cannot leave on the kitchen bench on a bad day. The help button lives exactly where the dog is.
Tactile. Forgettable, in a good way.
A single, raised button on the side of the collar — large enough to find by feel, flush enough not to press by accident. Cellular in town, satellite at the edge.
/// Mission
No senior living alone should face an emergency without help.
We are building the smallest possible hardware that solves the largest possible problem — pressing one button on a collar a dog is already wearing, and getting help on the way before the panic settles in. Add yourself to the notification list and we will tell you the moment reservations open.
The small WA team
Three people, one workshop, one first hundred collars.
Lifeline Collars is a deliberately small team. Every collar that leaves the Perth workshop has been touched by one of us.
Years on the bench making BioThane + paracord collars for WA pet owners — the customer list and the neighbourhood incident that pointed her toward this work.
Perth, Western Australia
Owns the enclosure, the cellular modem, and the satellite fallback. Iterates on long-range signal because most at-risk homes sit at the edge of coverage, not the middle of it.
Perth, Western Australia
Works the WA emergency call-takers integration and the local seniors list — the people who get the first hundred collars when reservations open.
Perth, Western Australia
Joining us as we grow: WA emergency call-takers, carrier integration partners, and the local council services that already know which seniors could use one of these first.
Get in touch
Prefer email — read every one.