 ABOUT DOG IS GOOD & DIG DIRECTPeople love their dogs. Some of them say "Dog is my hero" , others say "Dog is my soul" or even "Dog is
my reason for being".
Dog lovers also feel the need to express their "love of Dog". It's who they are. We get it - we've been a part of it for a long time. We started Dog is Good (DIG) as a lifestyle brand that captures how great you feel when you're with your
dog - not a pet products
company, but rather a brand for dog lovers. Since 2008 we have been creating original messaging and
designs that celebrate and
share how great it feels to "Live Life With Dog”. The Company story is somewhat typical of a grass-roots start up. Dog is Good started in a room in the
house, then a bigger room, then
the playroom went away (but the resentment lingers), then a couple of rooms, etc. The first warehouse
was really small and DIG has
moved a couple of times since those early days. Though we have been selling for a number of years by more traditional methods - e-commerce, selling into
brick and mortar retail
stores and selling through authorized independent resellers, we always recognized the potential of the
direct selling model. We
believe in the power of a community of like-minded people who support each other, uplift each other, and
just plain understand
each other, to achieve common purpose. That's what DIG Direct is all about. With community, common purpose, and a best-in-class business
opportunity, we improve the
lives of people and their beloved pets. To understand Dog is Good, it's also
instructive to understand the logo: The creation of the iconic logo dog, BOLO (Be On the Look Out), is a story in itself. Suffice it to say,
BOLO represents the good we see and feel in our dogs. At the same time, the canted halo represents the
mischievous streak to which dogs are prone and also gives us license to use some irreverent humor linked
to the Dog is Good / God is Good play on words.  Though we have had dogs in our lives since about 1996, we were especially touched by a pup we raised to
be a guide dog in 2013. We named her BOLO, of course, after the company logo. It was difficult to part
with BOLO when we had to give her back to begin formal training at Leader Dogs for the Blind. But we
were heartened by the thought that it's about what you give, not what you give up. And truly, BOLO had
given us a lot in that short year. As fate would have it, Leader Dogs called us just 6 weeks later. BOLO
had been "career changed" and was coming back to us. We can honestly say DIG is a brand "inspired by
dog"
OUR PRODUCTSThe major ingredient in Dog is Good - as a company and each product individually, is capturing that
remarkable feeling we as dog lovers have when we’re with our dogs . Here at DIG we often say “we don’t
sell products, we sell a feeling.” This feeling is somewhat indescribable so we had to think long and
hard about how to succinctly convey it. There is no word in the American lexicon to describe it, so we
turned to a combination of German and English and made it up: Dogvergnügen: The unique joy you feel in
the presence of Dog.
GILA KURTZ Gila is a product of northern Virginia and she graduated from Virginia Tech University in 1987.
When
she bought Jon with her Visa card at a bid for bachelors auction in 1988 (true story), it
effectively ended her teaching career. They married and proceeded to move about every 2 years
until
2006 when they were able to finally settle in sunny Seal Beach, CA . Still, in addition to
supporting a stressful navy lifestyle, she always had some sort of sales gig going on. After she
convinced Jon to adopt a too-young dalmatian puppy, Gila learned she really liked dogs and
decided
to pursue a career as a dog trainer. She immersed herself in science of canine behavior and
quickly
became the go-to dog trainer wherever she moved (much to the disappointment of the third human
Kurtz
family member, daughter Abby). A recurring theme with Gila is that “anything worth doing is
worth
overdoing.” Pet Age Top 25 Woman of Influence 2017 Woman of the Year, Women in the Pet Industry Network 2017 Finalist: Pet Age Women of Influence, 2015 Internationally Best Selling Author: Fur Covered Wisdom  JON KURTZJon grew up mostly in Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1982 and
determined soon after that the Navy would not be a career. True to his word, he retired after
only 27 1/2 years of service with the rank of Captain. Along the way he earned master’s degrees
from The George Washington University (Information Systems Management) and The US Army War
College (Strategic Studies), neither of which have much applicability to what he now does for a
living. He is proud of his naval service (and retiree status). A life-long fitness enthusiast and a "recovered" triathlete, Jon rarely misses that daily workout which helps him retain (or regain) his sanity . Winner: SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives) Best Veteran Owned Business, 2013 |
