While I’m a sucker for most pet products, I get especially weak in the knees when I find a well designed upgrade to a common item.

Above is the Kosoku dog leash, originally dreamt up by Sara Carpenter. Sara wanted a leash that not only included a rubber grip and poop bag dispenser, but alo featured a hardy lead her dog couldn’t chew through. Without a product on the market to satisfy her needs, she sent her idea to the folks at Quirky, an R&D company that collects ideas from every day folks and then asks the public to vote for those that should be further developed. With enough votes, Quirky’s team of product designers get to work designing and developing on person’s brilliant idea that buyers can then purchase through the company’s site.

With a little tweaking to Sara’s original concept, the Quirky team developed a leash with a fully retractable 6-foot long lead made from shock-absorbent neoprene and durable nylon canvas. Reflective 3M tape sits on the surface for extra visibility at night, and a side pocket holds poopy bags. After the jump a video on the production process, which is actually quite fascinating. The Kosoku is available for presale now for $37.