Tiller Tugs was born from the shared passion of two Riverside City firefighters: a canine rescue specialist with FEMA CA Task Force 6 Urban Search & Rescue, and an animal lover and volunteer with local animal rescue groups.

The original "Tiller Tug" design used discarded fire hose and outdated rescue webbing. The tugs were used as "a play reward" when a search dog correctly located and alerted on a victim. Tiller Tugs grew into a home grown company committed to raising funds for local rescue groups through the sales of quality dog toys using recycled fire hose.