# Good Dog

> Good Dog is a New York-based online marketplace that helps people find and bring home a healthy dog from a screened, responsible breeder, shelter, or rescue. Founded in 2017 by Josh Wais and Lauren McDevitt, the company built the first set of breed-by-breed, expert-backed standards for responsible breeding and health testing, then layered on secure on-platform payments, buyer protection, arranged transport, and a lifelong care team of veterinarians and behaviorists. It aims to bring transparency and accountability to a fragmented, opaque, and scam-prone process of getting a dog.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** New York, New York, United States
- **Founders:** Josh Wais (Co-Founder & CEO), Lauren McDevitt (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** ~170 employees
- **Products:** Good Dog Marketplace, Standards & Screening, Health Testing Levels, Secure Payments & Protection, Arranged Transport
- **Notable:** Built the first set of expert-backed, breed-by-breed standards for responsible breeding and health testing., Raised a total of ~$18.84M from top consumer and pet-industry investors., Launched publicly in 2019 as the first standards-based marketplace uniting breeders, shelters, and rescues.

## Products & services

- **Good Dog Marketplace** — An online marketplace where prospective owners browse profiles of screened breeders, shelters, and rescues, apply, and connect directly to find available puppies and dogs.
- **Standards & Screening** — Breed-by-breed, expert-backed community standards covering responsible breeding practices, plus a screening team that reviews applications and runs online audits and fraud detection before a breeder is listed.
- **Health Testing Levels** — A tiered system (Entry, Great, Excellent) rating breeders on breed-specific health testing for conditions like hip and elbow dysplasia, heart, and eye disease, built from health registries, genetic testing data, breed clubs, and scientific literature.
- **Secure Payments & Protection** — On-platform payments with optional Protection & Support, including payment protection, issue resolution, and lifelong access to an expert care team; a policy that keeps communication and payment on-platform until the puppy goes home.
- **Arranged Transport** — Coordinated, arranged transport to bring puppies from breeders to owners across the country.
- **Care Team & Learning Center** — Lifelong access to veterinarians and behaviorists plus a free library of articles and resources on choosing, raising, and caring for a dog.

## Achievements

- Built the first set of expert-backed, breed-by-breed standards for responsible breeding and health testing.
- Raised a total of ~$18.84M from top consumer and pet-industry investors.
- Launched publicly in 2019 as the first standards-based marketplace uniting breeders, shelters, and rescues.
- Developed a tiered health testing rating system (Entry, Great, Excellent) grounded in registries and peer-reviewed science.
- Introduced on-platform payments and buyer protection to combat rising puppy scams.

## Latest updates

- **2020-04** — Closed a ~$12.14M Series A, bringing total funding to roughly $18.8M.
- **2020-01** — Rolled out on-platform secure payments and buyer Protection & Support to reduce puppy scams.
- **2020-01** — Expanded breed-specific health testing levels (Entry, Great, Excellent) and arranged transport nationwide.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gooddog.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-dog
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/officialgooddog
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialgooddog
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialgooddog

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/good-dog
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-20