Juls Bindi loved going to her grandmother’s ranch to take care of the animals, and she continues to take care of animals—as a volunteer for no-kill shelters and as founder of ZuGoPet, a company that specializes in pet products that take wonderful care of small pets while being fashionable and affordable.
Juls’s dog, Russell, was neither comfortable nor secure when they traveled together. When she couldn’t find a proper pet carrier, she set out to fill that inexplicable void in the pet industry. It took years of research, consultations and prototypes, but Juls eventually came up with the multifunctional Jetsetter, a high-fashion pet carrier.
Your small pet can now travel like royalty, ensconced in a luxurious “pet cave,” cradled like the precious “cargo” he is (the bottom of the bag conforms to the pet’s body). The Jetsetter is made with plush vegan-approved materials. It has a bed with interchangeable pads—one that heats and one that cools—and a fluffy pillow. When used in the car, the Jetsetter keeps your pet happily confined, so he doesn’t become a distraction. On an airplane, it fits neatly under your seat.
The bag is lightweight, only 4 pounds, and measures 16” L, 10” H, and 10.5” W. It is for pets that measure no more than 14” collar to tailbone.
Carolyn Shewfelt, ZuGoPet’s lead product developer, became interested in pet safety after a horrendous incident. She was driving with her two Yorkshire terrier/miniature poodle-mix dogs were leashed to their booster seats so they could see out the windows. When she collided with another car, the dogs catapulted out of the seats, were jerked back by the leashes and ended up dangling in midair. Fortunately, Carolyn, uninjured, could free them immediately. Carolyn then went searching for a safe car seat for dogs and found none.
She spent the next seven years consulting with the Center for Pet Safety (CPS), veterinarians, animal spinal surgeons and animal physical therapists. The result was the Rocketeer Pack, the first dog car seat to earn a five-star certification from the CPS, a nonprofit research organization that uses the federal standards for children’s car seats for testing pet products.
In addition to serving as a car seat, the Rocketeer Pack comes with straps so that you can convert it to a backpack or front pack for when you are travel by bicycle or motor bike.
The Rocketeer Pack is for dogs or cats that weigh no more than 25 pounds. There are five sizes according to the length of your pet, collar to tailbone, from 9” long to 19” long.
For every ZuGoPet product purchased, Juls and Carolyn donate at least $1 to animal-welfare organizations. When they learned that some of these organizations were recommending the Rocketeer Pack or the Jetsetter to their clients, they implemented an affiliate program: Those who promote the products make a commission off of every sale they facilitate.
