About Us

World by the Tail, Inc., honors the emotional power of the human-animal bond. Love. Protectiveness. Gratitude. Grief. These powerful feelings are part and parcel of lives shared with companion animals.

Emotions are meant to be shared and supported. Whether you are a veterinarian, animal health technician, mental health professional, or pet lover, World by the Tail, Inc., exists to support your efforts on behalf of companion animals. We want to help you celebrate the good times shared with animals—first days of puppyhood, medical rescues, cat show championships ---as well as deal with the difficulties---chronic disease, the stress of care giving, terminal illness and companion animal death.

At World by the Tail, Inc., we care for people who care for pets.

Mission and Vision

World by the Tail, Inc., develops and distributes products and services that support the emotional side of working and living with companion animals. We are especially committed to providing tools and ideas for dealing with pet loss and grief. We believe we can fulfill this mission with integrity and accuracy due to the professional credentials and experience of our owners and staff.

If you find something of value on our website, here is what we ask of you. Take what you have learned and teach it to another. Take the support you have received and offer it to a colleague or family member. Take the insights, lessons, and coping skills learned from the experience of pet loss and apply them to the loss of a human friend or family member. Allow the lives and losses of your pets or your animal patients to touch other lives in this way. Listen and offer support.

Business Philosophy

At World by the Tail, Inc., we work hard to contribute to a sense of community, rather than competition, within the animal-related business world. While we want to be a successful small business, we also want to be a community resource. We want you, our customers, to feel like you have found a home with us. Therefore, if you have a question, suggestion, concern, or complaint, we want to hear from you! Creating a high level of job satisfaction for our employees and providing high quality customer service are our highest priorities.

We contribute to our local community in important ways. Our ClayPaws® kits are packaged by Foothills Gateway, an organization that provides jobs for those who are mentally and physically disabled. We also donate a portion of our profits to pet loss support programs offered by the Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University . Finally, when we are able, we donate up to three ClayPaws® kits per event to non-profit groups who are sponsoring fund-raising events to benefit a human-animal bond related program.

Business Goals

Our business goals blend the fields of veterinary medicine and mental health to create a humanistic approach to the delivery of veterinary care. We call this approach Veterinary Wisdom®. Veterinary Wisdom® is our featured information and product line. Our products help vets pay attention and respond to the emotional needs of their human clients, as well as to the medical needs of their animal patients.

Meet the Owners and Staff of
World by the Tail, Inc.

Laurel Lagoni

I am the President and CEO of World by the Tail, Inc., as well as the Director of VeterinaryWisdom.com. Before dedicating my time and professional energy to World by the Tail, Inc., I was the co-founder and Director of the Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University's James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. For 20 years, I provided grief education and support for thousands of veterinary students and families as they faced the deaths of their patients or pets at the university hospital.

I have a Master's Degree in Human Development and Family Studies with specialized training in grief counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy. I am the author of numerous books, book chapters, and journal articles written to help veterinarians learn how to deal with patient death and client grief. I have also taught seminars nationwide and appeared on ABC television's "20/20" program.

My favorite memory of working at World by the Tail, Inc., is of the day we were asked to provide enough clay to make a paw print of a famous grizzly bear. This bear had appeared in many movies and was now dying of cancer. His trainers and owners considered him to be a member of their family and wanted a lasting memento that would be unique and personal. We sent the family ninety pounds of clay in three aluminum turkey baking pans. Each paw print that they made took three hours to bake in the oven. Since full, well-preserved grizzly bear prints are rare to find in the wild, we made a contribution to science, as well as to the family's emotional healing process. In return, they sent us our very own grizzly print and it is one of our prized mementos!

Debby Morehead

I am the Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer and CFO of World by the Tail, Inc. Until recently, I worked full time at Colorado State University as the Associate Director of Development for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Before my involvement with the University, I was Publications Coordinator at the American Animal Hospital Association for over 10 years.

My husband David Morehead is a veterinarian in Broomfield, Colorado. In my husband's practice, I have seen firsthand how the end stages of human-animal relationships affect both families and the practice staff. Crises and loss are never easy to deal with and I want to do my part to help those who experience this kind of stress and grief. I wrote a children's book called A Special Place for Charlee and helped create our trademark product, ClayPaws®, the original paw print kit™.

My favorite memory of working at World by the Tail, Inc., is the overall feeling of satisfaction and pride that we have achieved and learned so much from this endeavor. Most small businesses fail but we have made it -- no small accomplishment! I love what our business sells, how we sell it, that we provide jobs others enjoy, that we support Foothills Gateway, and that we know we have brightened the lives of many people at often a very sad time.

Pete Lagoni

I joined World by the Tail, Inc., in 2009 after 20+ years working in corporate America at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. Even though I sometimes miss the 'computer world' and the opportunities I had to travel and manage teams of great people, it's great to work in a smaller company where the stress level and communication challenges are easier to live with!

While I'm not as enthusiastic about living with pets as most of my co-workers, I am committed to helping 'pet people' whenever I can. I like the fact that ClayPaws® prints mean so much to so many and I feel good about the products we put out into the world. My favorite part of my job is the time I spend on the telephone talking with our customers. I enjoy solving any problems that arise and feel good that I work for a company that is willing and able to put our customers' needs first.

Tammy Durham

I am an independent contractor for World by the Tail. I create and design the website that you are viewing now!

I am married to Mike and we have three cats in our family - Ben, Oscar, and Henry. We just recently relocated to the Oregon coast, and I work remotely with World by the Tail and other small businesses on website design.

I have a degree from Regis University in Business Marketing and many years of experience in retail management, customer service, and website design. I love the products this company provides and know from firsthand experience what a difference they can make in peoples' lives. I have ClayPaws® prints for two of my own cats I've had to euthanize and just treasure them!

Lora Kerr

I am the Business and Print Manager here at World by the Tail, Inc.! I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful company! Prior to working here, I was the Communications Manager for Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado.

I married the love of my life, Matthew, on November 1, 2009! We have two very spoiled dogs that we love dearly, Bella and Max.

I have only been working here for a year now, but it has been in my family from the beginning. My mom, Debby Morehead, is the vice president and co-owner of the business. It has been so inspiring to watch the company grow and I am so happy that I can now be a part of that. Animals bring the gifts of love and laughter into our lives, and I am honored to be part of a company that treasures those gifts.

Susan Goldman and Marti Zehler

We share the job of Inventory and Fulfillment Clerk at World by the Tail, Inc. It's our job to pack and ship your orders to you.

Susan is a wife and mother, so this job fits her needs very well as she can meet her responsibilities on a flexible schedule. She and her family have a number of pets in their lives - including Rica, the dog, and Zip and Jazz, the cats.

Marti is wife to Rick and mother to grown sons. Marti is happy to be part of World by the Tail, Inc. This part time job suits her perfectly. She can still go home and take care of her dogs, Willow and Chamois.

Both Susan and Marti enjoy working at World by the Tail, Inc., because of the people. This is a great group to work with and everyone is very understanding about our need to keep our jobs flexible.

Eva Mehrotra

I create the various handmade charms that can be used with our ClayPaws® prints. I'm excited to be working at World by the Tail, Inc., as I've been a long-time fan of the company's owners, products, and mission. Our family received a ClayPaws® print from our veterinarian when our dog passed away. Now, I'm working at THE company that touched us so deeply at our time of need. Our family has since adopted a rescue dog named Lilly.

My husband, Gautam, our three children (Anupama, Charles, and Sofia), two dogs (Alyce and Lilly) and our tortoise (Ziggy) have lived in Fort Collins, CO for many years. I feel so fortunate to have this job opportunity and the best part is the support I have received from family and co-workers. I love coming to work!