All of our wonderful customers loving SHERPA.
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Just a few of our ardent fans.
A must read for any dog or cat lovers.
I loved this book and feel grateful to Ms. Martz for having thought of and then bringing to the pet market place the Sherpa Bag. By doing so, she developed and manufactured an entirely new category in pet travel.
I love to travel with my dog and because of Ms. Martz’s fortitude and diligence in getting the Sherpa Bag accepted by all the major airlines, people now have the ability to take their beloved pets (who are a part of the family) on airplanes, buses and trains, instead of leaving them at home.
But this book is also about the difficult business journey Ms. Martz faced from getting the bag made perfectly to her impeccable standards– to getting it accepted by all of the major airlines, one by one– to dealing with scammers along the way who wanted nothing more than to take away the business empire Ms. Martz had built.
She deals with all of those obstacles with grace, courage and intelligence even after the devastating loss of her fiancé. In the wake of disaster, Ms. Martz continues to move forward and turn adversity into opportunities.
But then there is more. She discusses how other people can successfully build a business from scratch with practical tips and insights.
It is a must read for anyone who loves their dog or cat and is interested in how Ms. Martz’s successful business of producing the Sherpa Bag came about.
Alison is also an author, you check out her titles here: alisonrandauthor.com
I have had the pleasure of SHERPA bags for my precious pups for decades. I was so delighted to see Gayle’s book, “In The Bag” to share the unique journey both Gayle and SHERPA have experienced. This is a wonderful read covering the many ups and downs of a brave entrepreneur, but most distinctly, a female entrepreneur who created her own Future. A woman not afraid to take risks, strengthened by her personal network, and not ashamed to tell the tale of dire mis-steps and lessons learned along the way. “In The Bag” is a beautiful success story, but even more, a guide to those searching for their next chapter. Brava.
Good day to you, Gayle Martz!
I just wanted to thank you VERY much for your lovely little invention!
It helped me get my sweet, geriatric, 17-year old Russian Blue through a traumatic time of air travel from middle of Arkansas to middle of California!
>From the second she sniffed it, she loved it! She was sleeping in it within hours!
But I thought that surely after who knows how many hours of travel (at least EIGHT!) and travail in it in airplanes and airports and taxis, what with all those new sights and smells (she’s totally stone-deaf) and thousands of strange people, that she’d flee the carrier at first opportunity, never to get with paw’s distance from it from it again, but she STILL loves it!!!!! It’s like her little nest, she loves to sleep in it, where it is! *big grin* It says in the instructions that it folds flat for storage, But she’d go nutz if I tried that trick on her, she wouldn’t be able to stand not having it somewhere she can sleep in it!!! ^_^
So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for not only inventing this little gem, but for sharing it with everyone else!
Profuse thanks,
We love our two and four footed friends and customers.
We are leaving Tuesday for Florida, and I just want to take a minute to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your commitment to helping pets (and their people) travel a little easier. We use to drive to Florida every year (we live in Maine) because we figured our Chihuahua would have to be stuck out in the back of the plane. She would be devastated. But last summer, we asked the airline if there was any way possible for our baby girl to be with us on a flight. We explained that we would not fly if she could not be with us, And we were told that if we got an airline approved soft kennel, we would be allowed to have her with us, we were told that if we got an airline approved soft kennel, we would be allowed to have her with us (for a fee of $100.00 round trip). I went looking and that’s when I found the SHERPA Bag. She was totally relaxed and slept for most of the flight. No one can really see her in there so she didn’t draw the attention that she usually does when we take her out. I start about a month before we go on a trip, putting her in her SHERPA Bag for a few minutes every day, doing house work, or walking around outside, getting the mail, whatever, so that she is all set to spend several hours in there flying and moving around the airports. That bag that can hang off my shoulder like a pocketbook has just made travelling so much easier for us, that I had to e-mail you and say thanks.
Hi!
I’m Summer Richter and I’m a 6 month old Yorkie Girl. What am I doing? I’m sitting in my Sherpa Bag ready to fly with my Mom from Chicago to Tampa, Florida. The noise of the airport scared me pretty badly, so I kept snuggled up nice and quiet all through the trip. Thanks you Sherpa for making me feel right at home!
Summer
And
Dear Gayle,
As an entrepreneurial working women I want to congratulate you on your business acumen.
I feel that customer relations is one of the keys to a successful business. When I called your 1-800 number the operator was very courteous. In addition, she sent me an extra piece of fabric to repair the nylon mesh my little dog had ripped. I did not expect to hear from the president of the firm.
It is to your credit that you took personal interest in my problem. Such attention to detail and concern for customer satisfaction will certainly bring numerous rewards to you.
As I mentioned on the phone, I am not only a professional ASID interior designer, but also an active art advisor. I have taken over my late husband’s publishing firm. All these business keep me very busy and give me an appreciation for what you have accomplished.
Thank you for sending me the new SHERPA bag. Since the charge for repairing the old one was estimated at $30, I am delighted to not have that expense.
Good luck to you. I am sure SHERPA bags will soon be in every pet store in the country. It is a wonderful product.
Sincerely,
Dear Ms. Martz,
Thank you, thank you, thank you. After three round trip flights from SFO to Newark, with my small Terrier mix panic stricken in the cargo hold, I discovered your wonderful SHERPA Bag.
Following my last trip back from Newark, when United Airlines accidentally let Jenny Loose from her crate, I vowed I’d never fly with her again unless she came in the passenger cabin. After I raised a stink with United, it was decided that she was unfortunately, too big for the plastic in-cabin kennel.
I let the idea of traveling with lay fallow for more than a year until I resolved to bring her to my parents in New Jersey for Christmas. I considered sneaking her on as my child, pretending I was pregnant with her under my shirt or simply putting her in my carry-on and running her through the X-ray machine. Luckily, I didn’t have to go through with any of these harebrained ideas because the SHERPA Bag came to my rescue.
Thank you again for your hard work in changing the airline rules and creating the comfortable (I’ve been told) and stylish SHERPA Bag. I’m spreading the word wherever I go.
Best regards,
Dear Gayle,
The SHERPA Bags are just exceptionally beautiful and of unquestionable quality. I was very happy with them and also of your generosity in supplying me with the pictures and the literature. I have already placed it about the bags and the counter and in the window. The real test may not come until the season really starts up in June, but I am sure when the local customers discover them the news will get spread around. Like I told you on the phone, we are expecting a lot of new & profitable things to be happening around here from now on. I plan to keep you posted.
Sincerely,
Dear Gayle:
It was a pleasure speaking with you on Wednesday, August 23rd. I appreciate all you have done for me and my cat. I know that Oscar will be much happier in his new SHERPA Bag…
There should be more people like you who are so concerned with the welfare of our ‘furry friends’!
Best regards,
Dear Gayle,
All I can say is thank you from the bottom of mine and my pet’s heart!! We love our SHERPA Bag. My husband and I were not able to have children, so our Bichon Frise is our child substitute. We would never dream of leaving him behind when we travel and the SHERPA Bag has been the best!! It’s about time Airlines Treated our babies as precious passengers. We thank you for that. My baby and I are leaving for seattle on Monday and are glad to have upgraded our medium bag to a large one. Yikes, he better not gain anymore weight as he is 18 pounds now. Anyway, we wanted to take time out to tip our hats off to you. We give the SHERPA bag two paws up!!!!!
Dear Gayle:
Finally I am reimbursing you for the two wonderful Sherpa bags you sent me in California at the start of the summer. So many people ask me about them on my travels and at the Vet’s; I am a hugely enthusiastic customer!
You may recall that I was going to be taking my 14 year old cat on board for a lengthy trip from LA to Boston and on to Bangor, Maine—more than 13 hours in all, door to door. I had not carried her inside the cabin before, and I was anxious about it. Thanks to you and your Sherpa: we are coming for a landing in Boston after a six hour flight. I turn to my seat companion and say, thanks for being so understanding about my cat. She says “What cat?” That’s how easy the trip was for Daffodill! Not a peep out of her! Of course I asked the woman what she thought I was doing when i was down on my hands and knees, talking to the black bag on the floor of the plane. She said she just thought I was rearranging my luggage. Right.
Actually daffodil was so comfortable that she did the entire journey without even peeing. So there you are: what better testimony to your product.
Now I have the reverse journey this Friday and dare to hope for a great outcome as well.
Warm regards,
Dear Gayle,
I apologize for taking so long to get this to you. After our phone conversation (while you were in California), I decided to take some photos of Fergy in the Sherpa Bag, so that delayed my mailing a bit. She, as you can see, is very happy and comfortable in her bag.
Enclosed, you will find a copy of my original article, and a copy of the published article as it appeared in The Border Terrier Magazine. I hope you enjoy them.
Gayle, I want to take this opportunity to extend a very big thank you for making the Sherpa Bag available to those of us with small dogs. I will never fly my dogs without it. Considering what has gone on in the airlines recently, you are really a life saver!
Best Regards,
Dear Gayle,
Photographed is my 7 year old daughter Arielle with our 1 and a half year old long-coat male Chihuahua named Angel Jimbo. Every year we must fly to New York City, where Arielle’s Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering monitor her and the medicine she must take for her bone marrow function. This was Angel Jimbo’s first trip with us. After buying eight wonderful Sherpa Bags for our new dog, I honestly had trouble choosing the six that were airline approved! Since we flew Delta, the choice was made for me! One photo is of us in the air, although the better one is just after we landed! Angel Jumbo was mighty comfortable in his luxurious travel den between Florida and New York City, and back again this past June. Thank you all for creating a peaceful way for my little angel to join us on our many adventures together!
Mr. Kay A. Wilkins
Dear Sherpa:
Your small size deluxe Sherpa bag is perfect for our 2 lb. Yorkie Tika. We use it frequently for travel, but it is also her favorite resting spot. She settles into the hollow created when her faux sheepskin liner is on top of the carrier. I’m enclosing a photo. Happy Holidays
Sincerely,
August 6, 1994
Dear Sherpa,
Our Pom, Delphi, insist that we write to tell you and your master how pleased she is after her first season of travel in your bag. Twice previously we have taken Delphi to our boat in Turkey with her travelling in a hard kennel the whole way. What a nuisance! Even getting on trains and taxis was hit or miss, not knowing if the drier would object. Upon our return last year we were looking for a sports bag that could be converted into a carrying bag. Luckily, we found your bag existed before spending time and effort on that.
The bag is great. We can’t say enough good things about it. As you might gather, since we travel by many different modes of transportation, the bag receives fairly hard use and additionally, in our case, is exposed to a lot of sunlight. We’re happy to say that after we returned home and gave it a wipe off it looks as good as new. The materials and workmanship must be of good quality to stand up so well to our rigorous treatment.
One additional benefit of the bag is seeing the surprised looks and smiles we get when we unzip the bag and Delphi pops out. Because she doesn’t make a sound when in the bag, we know that we can take her almost anywhere with us without being hampered by unkindly “no dog” signs.
Great product; keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Dear Gayle.
Buster and I enjoyed an easy trip to Richmond, Virginia with Buster tucked safely and comfortably into his new “Sherpa Bag”. It is super! For several years I have been driving to see my family which is becoming a terrible ordeal for me as it takes 14 and a half hours to get there. It was just wonderful to be able to carry my little dog aboard U.S. air with me and arrive in Richmond rested and arrive in relatively short time. Enclosed please find my check for $6.00 to cover shipping cost for Busters traveling bag which you sent me so promptly. I can’t thank you enough for providing it!!
Sincerely,
Avon Women of Enterprise Awards
Dear Ms. Martz:
Congratulations! We’re delighted to inform you that you’ve been selected as one of the six 1996 Women of Enterprise Award Winners. Our distinguished Advisory Council members were very moved and inspired by your story and those of the other winners whose names are on the attached list.
All Winners will arrive in New York City on Tuesday, June 18 for the three day celebration. Activities are planned for the three days including dinners and the theatre. The gala awards luncheon will be held on Thursday, June 20 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where you will be staying.
We are sure you have many questions about the event. Yvette Borden, coordinator of the awards program, will be sending you a complete information packet that will provide many of the details. Karen De Martine, who will handle public relations, will be contacting you to prepare press materials. You will also hear from our production company to schedule a two-day video shoot at your business and home.
Once again, congratulations. Enjoy this moment. You are extremely deserving of this honor. Your family, friends and colleagues will be very proud of you.
Sincerely,
Dear Gayle,
I would first like to thank you for all of your help with our decision to carry pets in the cabin of our aircraft. WestJet Airlines will now except pets on board following the proper transportation and cabin safety guidelines. After our conversation, the information and the Sherpa bag you sent it was not hard to alleviate any concerns in regards to odor and allergies.
Agreeing to carry pets in the cabin has made many of our passengers very happy. Like other airlines in Canada, we do not advertise this service but offer it on every flight. We have been flying pets for a couple weeks now with few problems. I am glad that I could have the opportunity to speak to someone with extensive knowledge in this area to ensure that our policy change was well researched and supported. We used the Sherpa bag you supplied as an example to all of our reservation and customer service agents, pilots and flight attendants. Most agreed that it is the safest way for a small pet to travel.
Again, thank you for your help and generosity.
Sincerely,
Dear Gayle,
I’ve been meaning to write sooner, but we’ve been traveling constantly! But I love the black patent leather w/leopard pocket!!! I get a lot of compliments on it. You should be proud, you’ve revolutionized Pet carriers! It’s Brilliant! The new CD “Shelter” just hit stores March 11thits doing reat so far! Hopefully you will come to a show when we play NY.
Thanks!!
We enclose two photos of our young Maltese waking up in her Sherpa Deluxe Bag after a nap on the beach in Rio, Brazil.
Our Bambolina Loves her Sherpa Bag and loves to jump in every day for a nap even though she is not going in it. We have a neighbor who we introduced the Sherpa Bag to her for Maltese Tea Cup and our Bambolina tries to fit in that Sherpa Bag when the Tea Cup comes over for a visit.
Bambolina (Bambi) would make a great spokesperson for your wonderful carrier which we call “Bambi’s Condominium”.
Sincerely,