UVM People

by Thomas Weaver

Photograph by Justin Bunnell

Across more than a year of pandemic living, we’ve been reminded of the importance of pets in the lives of so many. Whether it was the comfort of longtime furry friends or adopted new ones helping us cope with the isolation of remote work and school, the emotional role of cats and dogs in human families has been affirmed.

Alumna Kyla Sternlieb is a deep-down dog-person. Remembering Ruffy, a beloved Wheaten Terrier, she says, “Ruffy changed my life for the better in every way a dog can.” And that headstrong terrier, who passed away from cancer in 2014, also played a key influence in Sternlieb’s career, inspiring her founding of Under the Weather, a line of freeze-dried foods for ailing pooches and other pet wellness products.

Summer 2012, Ruffy had a bout of stomach troubles familiar to dog owners. Also familiar, the standard treatment of shifting to a bland diet. Pressed for time to get to the grocery store, Sternlieb wondered about a quicker, simpler way when people are juggling a sick pup with everything else in their lives. She searched the web, found nothing, but in that void discovered a business niche for a healthy “just-add-water” product.

The road from light-bulb moment to national brand would require multiple considerations and no small number of dead-ends, Sternlieb says. Distribution methods, shelf life, the right manufacturer, and coming up with just the right name were among the tasks. With many pet products on the market, many names are trademarked. “Ruffy Rice” got nixed. As she mentioned her start-up to friends, Sternlieb often used the phrase “under the weather” to describe an ill dog. With clear sailing on that trademark, the decision was clinched. “I grabbed the name, which is the perfect fit because we are so much more than a bland diet/rice company now. We have about fifty wellness products for dogs and cats that target all different health issues,” Sternlieb says.

Today, Under the Weather is a Vermont entrepreneurial success story. Based in Winooski, the eight employees include a number of UVM alumni. And the product is manufactured locally by Green Mountain Animal, a plant in South Burlington.

The explosion of pet ownership across the past year and ever-growing opportunities via e-commerce have contributed to rapid development for Under the Weather. Looking back, Sternlieb says she was confident from the start, secure that her own experience as a pet parent was universal: “I knew from day one this was going to work. I never once secondguessed myself.” Looking forward, Sternlieb sees a rising trajectory. “As long as we keep growing and having fun, we will keep going. I cannot imagine doing anything else,” she says. “The pet industry is tight-knit, filled with interesting and compassionate people.”

At home, a next generation of dogs rounds out the household for Sternlieb and her husband, Bruce Lisman ’69. Chloe is a thirteen-year-old Yorkie and Henry is a five-year-old basset mix; both are rescues. At work, the late Ruffy’s inspiration continues with Under the Weather’s advocacy for shelter animals, an effort that flies under the banner of “Ruffy Rescue.”