Reinventing the dog crate? This Hempfield native hopes to make it apartment-friendly

When Jack Murray moved into an apartment with his roommates, he quickly noticed something: The “pretty small” three-bedroom wasn’t spacious enough for his dog Heidi’s crate.

The crate took up “so much room” in Murray’s home and impacted its visual appeal. If he wanted the crate out of the way and out of sight, he had to go through a tedious process of collapsing it and finding somewhere to store it.

Murray believes his experience is common among apartment-dwelling dog owners.

The Hempfield native will introduce a solution to this problem: an easily collapsible, aesthetically pleasing dog crate that folds into the wall Murphy bed-style.

“It looks like it fits in your home and it looks like it goes in your home,” Murray said. “You can own a dog, still have a nice cage and not mess up the visually appealing aspect of your home.”

It is the first crate of its kind, Murray said. The graduate student will sell the crates through his LLC, called Murray Kennel Co.

The crates will be made out of plastic and metal and will come in small, medium and large sizes. Murray wants them to be 100% American-made.

Murray, who studies veterinary medicine at the University of Missouri, started visualizing the crate last year. An engineer helped him design it.

Designing the crate was only the first step. The student then had to figure out how to produce and sell his crates.

For several months, this task stumped Murray — until he found out about Entrepreneur Quest, a University of Missouri program that teaches start-up success and entrepreneurial skills.

Murray was one of 10 students chosen for the eight-week program, which concludes with a pitch competition.

On March 22, Murray won first place in the competition. He took home $15,000 for his business.

Murray said he was “beyond excited” with the win.

“The school has definitely helped out a lot and given me a lot of resources from the entrepreneurial department,” he said.

Greg Bier, the university’s executive director of entrepreneurship programs, noted that Murray’s invention comes at just the right time since more people welcomed furry friends into their homes during the pandemic.

Pet ownership is at an all-time high in the United States, with about 70% of American households owning at least one pet as of 2020, according to the American Pet Products Association.

Bier applauded Murray for the passion and knowledge he brought to his business.

“Jack personally has probably been one of our most engaged students that we’ve worked with,” Bier said. “He was serious about this.”

Murray hopes to make the crate available for pre-order by summer.

Murray’s mother, Sheila Murray, is helping Murray with the financial side of his business. Sheila is also the chief financial officer for the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg.

She believes Murray Kennel Co. is the byproduct of her son’s headstrong personality. When Murray isn’t fulfilling his duties as a vet student, he is most likely working on the business.

“I don’t think he gets much sleep; it’s a crazy schedule,” Sheila said. “We’ve always said Jack always makes things happen no matter where he is in his stage of life.”

For each crate he sells, Murray will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Purple Leash Project, which aims to increase the number of pet-friendly domestic violence shelters in the United States.

Murray also plans to give crates to the “super-important” nonprofit.

After graduating, Murray hopes to pursue both his love for veterinary medicine and his newfound passion for entrepreneurship.

Though Murray Kennel Co. will start off selling only crates, Murray envisions the company someday could offer collars, dental chews and more.

“I’m hoping I can have other products that help other pet owners with efficiency and space-saving benefits,” Murray said.