Leo the corgi leads dog toy maker to huge success

    FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts (WCVB) -- Did you know that the pet toy industry is big business? By some estimates, global sales are expected to surpass $3.5 billion this year.

A Massachusetts dog toy entrepreneur is seeing success in this growing market, and she said it’s all thanks to her beloved pup, Leo.

"He’s been described as spirited, enthusiastic. He was called a ruffian. He was just a challenging, challenging puppy," Leo’s dog mom, Lisa Kamer, said.

Kamer is also the owner and founder of Knots of Fun Dog Toys, which is based in Framingham.

Shortly after bringing Leo, a corgi puppy, home, Kamer said Leo would nibble and chew on almost anything around the house. That was except for things that were soft.

"He would mouth blankets and would mouth socks. He would mouth the bottoms of the curtains but would not destroy it," Kamer said.

That behavior got Leo's dog mom thinking. She constructed a play toy out of woven Polartec fleece material she had lying around the house — the same Polartec fleece you find in rugged outdoor apparel for humans.

In doing so, little did Kamer or Leo know that a business was about to be born.

"He played with this toy, (and) played with this toy. And to this day, he still has that toy," Kamer said.

Kamer moved on to making fleece toys for other dogs, which then led her to design toy-making kits for area schoolchildren's fundraising efforts.

Almost overnight, her tough, plush dog toys became an instant hit, and she found she couldn’t make them fast enough.

"It’s durable, it’s machine washable, it floats, it can be frozen and it has the important OEKO-TEX safety, fabric safe certification," Kamer said.

When demand for the toys grew, making them all by hand was no longer feasible, so she reached out to Thorndike Mills in Palmer for help.

"They really took a chance with me, and I’m forever grateful because they started braiding my toys and it just was a wonderful working relationship," Kamer said.

A rug company in North Carolina also stepped in to assist with the larger manufacturing process.

Now, bags and bags of toys arrive at her global headquarters for the final handcrafted touches before being sent out to retailers nationwide.

Since 2016, Kamer has sold several thousand of her dog toys locally and around the world. She said the goal for her company is the same as it was with the first toy — to create an irresistible and nearly indestructible toy that is made for more than just playtime.

"These are not toys that you toss in the crate and say go have fun. These are meant for you to use to bond with your dog, to train your dog and to make that connection with your pet because that’s what they want," Kamer said.