This content was created by Girlboss in partnership with Sundays for Dogs.
For Dr. Tory Waxman, it was love at first sight when a stray scruffy puppy was rushed into her veterinary ER in the middle of the night after being hit by a car.
“It was honestly such a crazy feeling, but I knew the instant I saw her that she was mine—and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” says Dr. Waxman of her rescue dog Mabel. “Mabel is so much more than a dog to me—she has been a constant companion and my best friend since I was so lucky to come across her in March 2015.”
As a veterinarian herself, the health of the animals she cares for—both professionally and personally—has always been Dr. Waxman’s top priority. But with a busy veterinarian’s schedule, she struggled to find time to make Mabel the top-quality human-grade food that she knew would be best for her health.
“I wish I was the kind of person who had the time to home cook for my dog, but let’s be honest—I don’t cook for myself every night. I wanted to be able to give Mabel the best food while also selfishly not making my life any more complicated,” she explains.
It was this very dilemma that sparked the idea for Sundays for Dogs, her human-grade dog food company that she started together with her husband.
Dr. Waxman’s unique POV as a veterinarian *and* devoted dog mom proved to be the perfect prerequisites for developing a dog food that’s as friendly to the owners as it is to the dogs: Sundays for Dogs uses a unique air-drying process to give dogs a shelf-stable dry food with all the same nutrients as fresh food.
“I always joke that we make Sundays for Mabel and then share the extra with other dogs, but it’s true every batch of Sundays is made for our own dogs,” says Dr. Waxman. “Every decision that I make is being made through the lens of a scientist who is aiming to do what is best for dogs.”
If you’ve read the back of your dog’s food lately, you’ll know that finding a dry option that’s as nutritious as fresh food—let alone one that doesn’t contain synthetics, fillers, meat meals, or byproducts—is basically impossible… until now.
“Before Sundays, dog parents really had to choose between the convenience offered by kibble or the highest quality human-grade foods that were wet, messy, and required preparation and clean-up,” explains Dr. Waxman. “We believe you shouldn’t have to choose between quality and convenience.”
On the biggest misconceptions around dog food
“The thing that surprised me the most diving into the dog food world is how passionate and almost zealous people—even vets—can be about what’s right or wrong. The science isn’t as fully developed as you would expect, therefore a lot of what we’re doing to elevate the field is based on first principles thinking about how we can make food higher quality, safer, tastier, more convenient for the dog parent, and so on. Everyone’s just trying to do the best they can for their animals with the constraints they have, and that’s ok. At Sundays, we’re just trying to make it easier for dog parents to feed the absolute highest quality food for folks looking for that.”
On her most challenging moments as a business owner
“It took us almost two years to figure out how to make Sundays on a commercial scale. As fate would have it, we finally figured it out in February 2020, right before COVID started. In March, when COVID hit, we couldn’t buy any meat and almost went out of business. We literally started cold-calling every place we could think of that sold the human-grade ground beef we use in our recipes—local grocery stores, butchers, Costco, everyone. Eventually, we found some great meat—that’s a fun story for another time—and we figured it out. One of the biggest lessons of startups, or life for that matter, is that it’s like navigating a maze; sometimes you run into a dead-end but don’t give up, just find another way out.”
On finding balance with her husband as both her life partner and business partner
“We figured out how to set healthy boundaries pretty early on and for the most part, don’t talk business when we’re spending quality time with our kids or dogs or each other. Fortunately, we like spending time together. If we didn’t, I don’t know if it would’ve worked when we were in COVID lockdown with our kids, our dogs, and our business that, at the time, didn’t have any other employees.”
Now onto the Rapid Fire questions… Who inspires you?
“Eugenie Clark, known as ‘The Shark Lady,’ was an ichthyologist who challenged our understanding of sharks, propelled by her love of animals and commitment to following the science.”
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“Take lots of pictures and videos because they grow up faster than you think—this applies to dogs, kids, and startups!”
What are some qualities you look for in an employee?
“Grit. Startups are challenging, and the most important qualities are related to remaining not just solid in the face of adversity, but more than that, to be at your best—creative, kind, and consistent—when things don’t go to plan.”
How do you unplug from work?
“I walk every day in the woods with my dogs. I also train and compete in dog agility. Notice any themes here? [laughs]”
What does “girlboss” mean to you?
“I think it reflects the additional challenges women face as leaders. In addition to all the challenges that all leaders face, women still have to prove themselves worthy even in this day and age. Until we start referring to a man in charge as a ‘boyboss’ then the term ‘girlboss’ will be necessary.”
