Ganda wins top honors @ DIG Holiday Party

It’s official.  Los Alamitos High School senior Madison Ganda is Dog is Good’s Employee of the Month for November 2009.  Informed of the exciting news at the DIG holiday party with his parents present, Ganda had this to say: “OK, cool.”  After a long uncomfortable silence which ultimately prompted him to continue, he added “I didn’t know I was even eligible, I mean, I’m like, one of those 1099 people.”

“I really like having Madison around and he’s really flexible with his hours coming in on short notice” said DIG co-owner and professional dog trainer Gila Kurtz, “he comes as soon as he’s called… very obedient.”

The fact that his certificate managed to get spattered with hummus from its proximity to the pita chips did not diminish the importance or gravity of the occasion.  After some ham (with a little too much fat on the edges) and several rum balls, Ganda apparently warmed up and volunteered “you know, all I really do is unload boxes then break them down and throw ‘em away, recycle, whatever.  I’m usually there at night and the Kurtzes have been there for like 10 hours.  I have to turn up my iPod ’cause they start sounding like the Castanzas after a while.”

Owner Jon Kurtz spoke frankly about his honored employee: “If showing up on time and stacking folded tee shirts neatly is an indicator of future success – and it may well be, then by all means, Ganda has a bright future.”

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Great Dane Bakery’s interpretation of Winter Bolo: He was delicious.

Gayle (Office Mngr. Extraordinaire), Maj (PR Maven), Gila (co-founder / wonder woman)

Everyone else at Dog is Good’s inaugural Holiday Party had a great time too. Attendees could be found scattered around the Kurtz’s home, playing dreidel, singing Christmas tunes and stealthily trading away their white elephant gifts; The evening was a decided success.

Although The third and final Dog is Good co-founder, J.Nichole Smith, was in town for the event, she could not be found for comment. She was last seen holed up in the office with a cocktail and a piece of cake,  cranking out DIG designs for 2010.

Henry, the Kurtz’s little cupcake-face Japanese Chin spent the evening twittering his tail and shamelessly using his ability to “sit pretty” to elicit food donations from the junior guests.

Sasha, the Kurtz’s other “Good Dog” shrugged her model citizen status for the evening to scavenge for dropped bits of lasagna and rogue Hershey’s kisses that might have made their way to the floor or the edge of the table. Finding only meager crumbles of cheese here and there (which she proceed to lap off the marble tile floor) she settled for the cocktail nuts on the coffee table, which she immediately regretted.

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CityDog Magazine Holiday Gift Guide

You’ll find our fab new Dog is Good “Know Dog, Know Joy, Know Love” tee and our boxed Bulldog Christmas Cards in BOTH the holiday issue and the holiday gift guide of CityDog Magazine.

If you’re looking for great gifts for the dog lovers (or dogs!) in your life – you have to check out this spot-on guide and prepare to check off everyone on your list!

Here is a sneaky-peek at the DIG spreads… Thanks CityDog, you make us look good!

Animal Radio shows DIG the love

We just got wind of this fabulous review on AnimalRadio.com – thanks Judy + Bobbie!!

” Finally a tee has come along that is for the dog lover and looks fantastic!!! Dog is Good has made a line of chic dog themed apparel with many different sayings, styles and some even include rhinestones.   Some of the sayings you will find are: “It’s all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone,” “Know Dog, Know Joy, Know Love” and “DIG BLING” (someone was recently seen on the tv show Dancing With the Stars wearing this tee).

The fitted tees are made from ultra-soft prima cotton, which breathes well and has a nice stretch making it extremely comfortable to wear.

We just love the way they look and feel.  These are not the doggy themed tees that you sleep in or wear when you do laundry, these are the tees that you can pair with your favorite jeans and look great when you go out!  You won’t want to hide these!

If you are looking for the perfect gift for the pet lover, forget the other cheesy tees, give them something with style that they will wear proudly.  And, don’t forget to pick up an extra for yourself!”

Reviewed by: Judy Francis & Bobbie Hill

Dog is Good in Bark Magazine

On the look-out for holiday gear for your pup-lovin’ pals?  Check out our feature in Bark Magazine, which highlights our “Never Sleep Alone” sleepshirt, our “It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone ends up in a Cone” women’s tee and our pink bolo patch hat – whew!

Do check out the entire issue though – it’s a good one! (as always…)

Dog is Good: Employee of the Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dog is Good (a.k.a. DIG), a Los Alamitos, CA-based apparel and gift business specializing in dog-themed wares, named Gayle Chait their first Employee of the Month. Operated by its three founder-owners, DIG has just the one employee. According to owner Gila Kurtz, “Gayle epitomizes what we value in our employees at DIG. She is resourceful, helpful, and organized. It was only natural that she win the award.”

Co-owner J. Nichole Smith agreed. “Recognition in the workplace is important and she was definitely our ‘Best in Show.’ This is no small deal.” Jon Kurtz, also a co-owner, was complimentary of Chait, but indicated “when we hire another employee, we’ll see if she can maintain her current pace. It was unanimous this time but there’s no guarantees. And considering that we may be able to present more than a cupcake and a certificate laser-printed on 20lb copier paper, this will be a coveted award.”

Employee of the month, Gayle Chait, had this to say: “I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted, or maybe both. I mean, I guess they could’ve just not awarded the thing at all. Honestly, though, when I first got here it was like the Three Stooges, everybody running around and everything. I pretty much got things under control. That part’s off the record, right?”

Gila Kurtz, indicated she had a larger perspective on employee management as she waxed philosophic: “employee morale is very important. We ultimately want to be considered the employer-of-choice in the dog-themed human gift and apparel industry in west Orange County, CA.”

Dog is Good makes a National TV debut

Last night on Dancing with the Stars, the gorgeous Ukranian lovely Karina Smirnoff made the delicious choice to wear her “Dog is Good” blue bling tee during rehearsal, which was included in last night’s show (week 6) – imagine our delight when the camera panned to Karina wearing our tee!

We really enjoyed meeting Karina last fall in Hollywood and we are SO glad she discovered her blue bling tee is comfy enough to dance in!

Once we have the video we’ll pop it up here for you to see!

Woof!

Dog is Good is on the Daily Kibble

If you’re a fan of Daily Candy and you have a dog – Daily Kibble is for you

We were pleased to see that today we were featured as Daily Kibble’s “Daily Scoop”- click the image to read the article.

Lovin’ Life in Seal Beach, CA

 

As a military family, we move A LOT. We have been to so many wonderful places all over the country and overseas. We arrived in Seal Beach 3 years ago and we love it so much that Jon, my husband, is going to retire from the Navy so we can stay here. I love Seal Beach! It is such a quaint, friendly beach town. Most people don’t know where Seal Beach is located so when people ask, I typically say Southern California, about 45 minutes south of LA. Of course, “45 minutes” means it is not during rush hour and you have another passenger in the car to qualify for the carpool lane. In any event, Seal Beach is actually nestled between Long Beach and Huntington Beach. We currently live on the Navy Base in a fantastic house on the best property in the area. There is nothing better than being able to run, bike, or walk downtown or have immediate access to the beach. When we first found out we were moving here, my experience with the Navy led me to think the name “SEAL BEACH” was a reference to the Navy Seals…but it is actually a reference to the large number of seals that hang out here. The downtown area, called Old Town, maintains an updated “1960’s” charm. When strolling down this delightful street, my favorite thing is to watch people looking at the window of the fabulous women’s boutique, Gee’z. This past fall, the owner introduced some of the Dog Is Good line to her store. She displays our tees beautifully in her window, rotating them regularly. As I am walking dogs down the block, I often see people looking at the window and saying to their friends, “Hey, check out this tee-shirt, it’s fantastic!” Needless to say, the tees always garner laughter and folks end up going inside to pick one up for themselves or as a gift for the dog-lover in their lives. In addition to Dog Is Good, Gee’z sells some unique and beautiful clothing as well as gorgeous jewelry from various artisans.

The surrounding community is filled with active, friendly people. Many families immediately welcomed us into this community and have become amazing friends. Since we launched Dog Is Good a little over a year ago, we have received an outpouring of support! Many of our friends have offered their talents and time to help us grow our business. We feel incredibly blessed to have met so many wonderful people and are thankful for all the help many of them have given and continue to provide to us and Dog Is Good. One of my friends passed on Dog Is Good info to the local blog expert who did a very nice write up on us. The Seal Beach Daily, www.sealbeachdaily.com,  is the best resource for anything in Seal Beach. In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, the Seal Beach Daily will be giving away the Bark for America tee shirt to their winner of the month. 

Needless to say, I am looking forward to staying in one place after moving every 2 years for the past 20, and I am so glad it is going to be in beautiful Seal Beach. If you are ever planning a trip to Southern California, please come visit Seal Beach (use www.sealbeachdaily.com to help plan your trip) and come visit us at the Dog Is Good headquarters.

A Dog Owner’s Nightmare

Our amazing front yard

Area of fence where Henry crawled under heading straight for traffic

Henry(on left) with his “girlfriend” Mia

Yesterday, I almost experienced every dog owner’s worst nightmare. It was a typical moment in our front yard ( reminder: our front yard looks like a golf fairway and is the best playground for all the dogs…see photo). Sasha was laying down in the grass, begging for belly rubs, while Arlo and Peanut were running around. Henry was investigating various smells and taking a stroll by himself near the trees. After giving Sasha some love and attention, I looked up to see two dogs continuing to run around and play and Henry still hanging out by the fence line. Only this time, something seemed different. I strained to look harder and suddenly realized he was no longer in the yard but was now on the other side of the fence ready to walk straight into traffic. I absolutely freaked! I was now faced with a serious dilemma. I had to get Henry, but if I raced down the hill to get him, the other two dogs might find the same gateway to the very heavily travelled Seal Beach Blvd and crawl under the fence to join Henry. My flip flops flew off as I screamed to Henry, “STOP….STAY”. I raced back up to the house with the other two pups right on my heels and got them safely inside. I continued to remind Henry to STAY, which he did. He absolutely did not move a muscle…thank goodness!  I raced back down the hill to the fence and called him back to me. He happily trotted towards me and slipped right back under the fence and right up into my arms. I held him in a way I had never done before….with such fear of losing him in my heart, I was trembling. His sweet little face looked up at me as if to say, “what’s up with you? And by the way, do you have a treat for that very nice STAY that I did?” Thank goodness I did have him well trained and he listened in a moment that could have immediately ended his life. The landscapers came out immediately and filled in the hole to prevent this from happening again in the future. In the end, all is well. The incident reminded me though how much love one feels for their dog and how important it is to protect them and keep them safe. I know a solid background in training helped to ensure a happy outcome. Training one’s dog never ends…it is a lifestyle we have in our home all the time.

Gila

Zoe, my happy girl

Memphis, Zoe's stunt double!

Today is the Dogs Walk Against Cancer in NYC sponsored by Fido Friendly Magazine.  Felicia Gray of Gotham Canine (www.gothamcanine.com) and friend of Dog Is Good, is flying across country to participate in this worthy cause.  Why would she travel from California to NYC you ask?  For Felicia, this event is not just about raising money to help both humans and dogs suffering from cancer, it’s personal.  She lost her beloved dog Memphis to prostate cancer.  Memphis’ diagnosis of prostrate cancer first revealed itself in June ‘08, 8 months before his untimely death.  Because Memphis did not show any symptoms of the disease, neither the vet, internist, nor oncologist could confirm the presence of the cancer with 100% certainty.  Fast-forward 7 seven months, and this once happy, energetic dog started a rapid decline in health.  When a specialist confirmed the presence of the cancer, Felicia was faced with something she had hoped she would escape.  To prevent Memphis from suffering any further, she needed to put her long-time companion down.  It is impossible to articulate the emotions this paralyzing moment and gut-wrenching experience creates. 

When Felicia first sent me a picture of Memphis, I was blown away.  Memphis looks so much like my Zoe, a Dalmatian/Lab mix who I lost to heart failure just last year. I know all too well the pain that Felicia feels.  It never goes away, you just learn to laugh at all the antics and joy that your loving companion brought into your life.  Dog Is Good actually memorialized Zoe through two of our products.  You can find her silhouette on our Hoodie “Property of Dog” and also on our greeting card “Keep Your Eye on the Ball”. 

The pictures of Memphis and Zoe show the similarity of our two dogs.   Felicia is really cool and she writes about great stuff that all dog lovers would find interesting, so visit her at www.gothamcanine.com.  This is a lady that takes action for what she believes in so, if you want to help make a difference and contribute to her fundraising efforts go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/CommunityFundraisingPages/CFPFY09Eastern?px=9622130&pg=personal&fr_id=19024&fl=en_US&et=zVshgLLT0nyI91offVzCqQ..&s_tafId=350216     

After the walk, I hope she gets to enjoy some of my favorite NYC delicacies: NYC pretzel, NYC pizza (nothing like it), and a Black and White cookie from any NYC bakery.
Gila