The $25K Check That Built Wag!

Issue #200

June 9th, 2025

Quick Hits:

🇮🇳 Venture Capital group makes its first move into the pet space with an investment in Goofy Tails

💵 Franchise Group exits Chapter 11, streamlining around Pet Supplies Plus

🖊️ Bipartisan BARK Act unites Congress, enabling expired pet food donations

📕 The world’s most famous dog photographer, The Dogist releases new book

😢 A veterinary dentist faces investigation after multiple dogs die in his care

😂 If dogs could vlog from the dog park

😡 Iran makes walking your dog illegal

🌟 Internet celebrity Tiki’s adoption window is open, but the waitlist is full

🐓 Chickens are becoming the 3rd most popular pet

🐟 Small Gulf fish oil transforms pet health with sustainable, nutrient-rich benefits

This week, we are speaking with Jason Meltzer, the cofounder & former CEO of Wag! and current CEO & Cofounder of Live Work Pet.

You started walking dogs as a kid — how did that early experience shape your approach to launching SurfDog LA and later Wag!?

I started walking dogs after school when I was just 11 years old. Our family dog Greystock escaped our yard and had puppies with a neighbor’s dog. A few months later, nearly every household on our block had a puppy—including ours. When the pups were old enough, I went door to door offering to walk the neighborhood dogs for $10 after school. I picked up a few customers and loved the responsibility.

Years later, after a startup I joined ran out of capital, I found myself looking for work. I had just read The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss and was inspired by the idea of building lifestyle companies. I noticed that during midday hours in Santa Monica, the streets were filled with people walking dogs. They looked happy, relaxed, and tan. I soon realized these were professional dog walkers, and I remembered my old neighborhood route.

I applied for a dog walking job but didn’t get hired. So that same night, I launched SurfDog LA. I created a Facebook page, ordered business cards, and as soon as they arrived, I hit the boardwalk. I handed out cards to anyone walking a dog. Some dog walkers gave me dirty looks, but then I met a dog mom with two Golden Retrievers who had just moved from Denver. She called me that night and booked me for a walk the next day. I was officially in business.

That experience was pivotal years later when I started Wag. I knew Santa Monica was unique, but dogs were arriving in new cities across America every day. If you could earn trust, people would hire you to care for their dogs. Wag was the chance to scale that insight nationally.

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