Women’s Entrepreneurship Day is November 19th, 2023 and was established by WEDO (Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization) in 2013. According to the founder, Wendy Diamond, the organization’s mission is to “bring awareness to girls living in poverty worldwide and empower women across the globe! By celebrating, supporting, and uplifting women entrepreneurs worldwide, we’re creating a more equitable world for women through the power of entrepreneurship.”
As a woman-founded company, we’d like to take this chance to celebrate the two women we have to thank for starting this company back in 1997!
Our Founders
Laurel Lagoni and Debby Morehead are co-founders of CaringWisdom’s parent company, World by the Tail, Inc. Both worked in the field of veterinary medicine for 25 years, with many of those years at Colorado State University. Laurel holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is one of the pioneers of clinical veterinary grief counseling. She is the Co-founder and former Director of the Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Debby was the Associate Director of Development in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and, prior to that, was the Publications Manager for the American Animal Hospital Association. Both have a love for entrepreneurship and are proud to be successful business owners.
Laurel Lagoni
Laurel Lagoni is a co-founder of World by the Tail, Inc. World by the Tail, Inc., provides Veterinary Wisdom® products and services to animal care professionals as well as pet parents. ClayPaws®, the original paw print kit™, is the company’s signature Veterinary Wisdom® product. Laurel is no stranger to entrepreneurship as she is also the co-founder and former Director of the nationally renowned Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The Argus Institute helped chart new territory in veterinary medicine by offering one of the first and most comprehensive on-site pet owner support programs associated with a veterinary medical school. Through CSU’s original pet loss support program (Changes: Support for People and Pets), Laurel helped transform veterinary medicine into a profession that knows how to compassionately support clients and their emotional needs.
The results of Laurel’s clinical and classroom efforts have been showcased twice on ABC television’s “20/20” program and in multiple newspaper and magazine articles, including USA Weekly and The New York Times. Today, Laurel continues to offer pet loss education through the Resource Center at VeterinaryWisdom.com.
Laurel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism from Iowa State University and a Master’s Degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with specialties in family therapy and grief education, from Colorado State University. She is the co-author of four books, including the ground breaking text The Human Animal Bond and Grief (W.B. Saunders, 1994) which introduced the Bond-Centered Practice approach for client care. Laurel has written over 50 book chapters and journal articles, and has been invited to speak at over 50 workshops, seminars, and conferences, including the Smithsonian Institute. Laurel is also published in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul and has been a contributing columnist for several pet-related magazines and journals.
Laurel lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband. She has two daughters, and a rescue dog named Sugar. In her spare time, Laurel likes to read, write, and spend time with her family.
Debby Morehead
Debby Morehead is a co-founder of World by the Tail, Inc. She has over 25 years of experience working in veterinary medicine and for many years helped her husband, a small animal veterinarian, manage his veterinary practice.
Debby was the Associate Director of Development for the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) for ten years. While there, she coordinated major fund raising campaigns for CVMBS including the “Animals Battling Cancer” and “Paws for a Cause” national campaigns to raise awareness of cancer in companion animals. She also led the campaign to create The Path of Honor, a brick walkway of inscribed testimonials to pets and people located on the grounds of the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins. She also worked closely with the College to offer services to nurture and strengthen Veterinary alumni relations with students and graduates.
Prior to working at CSU, Debby spent over 10 years as the publications manager for The American Animal Hospital Association. Her background in veterinary publications led her to author the children’s book, A Special Place for Charlee: a Child’s Companion Through Pet Loss. She is also one of the co-authors of Colorado State University’s Argus Institute’s Guidelines for Bond-Centered Practice.
Debby sees World by the Tail, Inc. as truly a “heartfelt” business. It is by far her most rewarding professional achievement. It brings her an overall feeling of satisfaction and pride that to have achieved and learned so much from this business. She loves the products, the total commitment to customers and staff, and the support for health care givers who provide care, communication and comfort to the families they work with at a very sad time. Debby knows crises and loss are never easy to deal with and she wants to do her part to help those who experience this kind of stress and grief.
A graduate of Colorado State University, Morehead now lives in Loveland, Colorado with her husband Dave, who is a retired small animal veterinarian, and her dog Starling. They have two children and five grandchildren.
We’re Proud to be a Business Created by Women Entrepreneurship!
On behalf of everyone here at World by the Tail, Inc. I’d like to say we couldn’t be prouder of these two incredible women! We owe so much to them personally for creating such a wonderful place to work. A place that provides meaningful and high-quality products that truly help people. They’ve set the standard for all of us here and we only hope to continue their legacies in the years ahead.
And for our readers, we know many of you either are women entrepreneurs or work for businesses that are products of women entrepreneurship. Here’s to you as well! We wish you continued success.
Until next time,
Bryn Frisina
Chief Growth Officer
World by the Tail, Inc.