WIPIN Recognizes Pet Industry’s Women of the Year

Listen to this article

Women in the Pet Industry Network (WIPIN), a leading organization focused on women entrepreneurs and leaders in the ever-growing pet industry, announced the five category winners of Pet Industry Woman of the Year.

These women were selected as the top women in their categories. The Pet Industry Woman of The Year Award has five categories: Advocate, Corporate, Entrepreneur, Rising Star and Solopreneur. From these five categories, 25 finalists were chosen. A winner in each category was announced at the Women in the Pet Industry Conference in Portland, Oregon, on September 26.

Advocate Category: Marci Koski with Feline Behavior Solutions

Type of business: Cat Behaviorist and Cat Training

Corporate Category: Gila Kurtz with Dog Is Good

Type of business: Apparel, Gifts & Accessories for Dog Lovers

Entrepreneur Category: Candace D’Agnolo with Pet Boss Nation

Type of business: Helping Petpreneurs Become Profitable Pet Bosses.

Rising Star Category: Rebecca Breese with Pet Hub

Type of business: Modern Pet Identification for the Modern Dog.

Solopreneur Category: Mona Straub with Just Fur Fun

Type of business: Unique Canine, Feline, Human and Equine Hand-Beaded Accessories.

After the individual category winners were announced, only one was chosen as the winner overall for: Pet Industry Woman of the Year.

Kurtz, the Corporate winner, became the overall winner and now holds the title of Pet Industry Women of the Year 2017. She is the co-founder and co-owner of Dog Is Good, an award-winning lifestyle brand for dog lovers. The company creates original designs for a broad array of products including gifts, apparel, accessories and home decor specifically for the human at the other end of the leash. It sells to wholesale and retail and licenses the brand to numerous manufacturers in the pet, gift, outdoor retail, resort and home decor industries. Known for its clever use of humor and poignant sentiments, the Dog is Good brand is a favorite among dog lovers worldwide and, in a survey conducted by Pet Age Magazine in January 2016, was recently selected as the number one brand of choice among pet retailers in the gifts for the dog lover category.

“Gila will be a wonderful representative for women in the pet industry,” said Shawna Schuh, president of Women in the Pet Industry. “She is accomplished, runs a successful brand and will use her talents well in this new role.”