Americans spent $158 billion on their pets in 2025, according to the American Pet Products Association. That money goes to designer beds, monogrammed collars and dog sweaters that cost more than human ones. But the leash, the one item owners use every day, is mostly an afterthought. “Even going back 100 years, leashes still look the same for the most part,” Brandon Dadbin says.
So Dadbin built a better one. He launched Paw Fancy earlier this year. Its flagship luxury dog leash is made of soft Italian leather with triple stitching and hardware dipped in 14-karat gold or silver. The cost is $189. “We design the way a fashion house does,” Dadbin says of the brand. Customers started calling it the “Hermès of dog leashes.”
The selling point is what Dadbin calls EVO modular hardware. Paw Fancy’s patent-pending clip has an extended arm that scoops and closes with one hand. It hooks onto a belt loop for hands-free walking or wraps around a restaurant table leg. Dadbin’s longer-term goal is interchangeable straps and hardware so owners can mix finishes and colors like Lego pieces instead of buying a new leash.
He learned the ins and outs of business from his mother, who fled Iran at 16 and built a home textile company in Los Angeles. When the family Pomeranian jumped onto one of her fabrics, she started making pet beds. That brand became Best Friends by Sheri, grew from $1 million in sales to become the No. 1 pet bed brand on Amazon, and was ultimately sold for $60 million.
Dadbin, the youngest of three brothers by nine years, often had to fight for his ideas to be heard at the company. When he pitched superhero dog toys, his older brother said licensing was not a possibility. A week later, Dadbin met a neighbor whose wife worked in licensing at Disney Consumer Products. That introduction led to deals with Disney and later Marvel.
After the family company was acquired, he wanted something of his own. Dog beds meant bulky boxes and expensive inventory, but leashes were small enough to start from home.
Paw Fancy has only been on the market for a few months, but it has already drawn interest from Chewy, HomeGoods and Pet Supplies Plus.
Some skeptics have warned Dadbin that leashes are a slow-moving category. But he’s seen this movie before. “I heard that same story with beds, but look at how that changed,” he says.
Americans spent $158 billion on their pets in 2025, according to the American Pet Products Association. That money goes to designer beds, monogrammed collars and dog sweaters that cost more than human ones. But the leash, the one item owners use every day, is mostly an afterthought. “Even going back 100 years, leashes still look the same for the most part,” Brandon Dadbin says.
So Dadbin built a better one. He launched Paw Fancy earlier this year. Its flagship luxury dog leash is made of soft Italian leather with triple stitching and hardware dipped in 14-karat gold or silver. The cost is $189. “We design the way a fashion house does,” Dadbin says of the brand. Customers started calling it the “Hermès of dog leashes.”
The selling point is what Dadbin calls EVO modular hardware. Paw Fancy’s patent-pending clip has an extended arm that scoops and closes with one hand. It hooks onto a belt loop for hands-free walking or wraps around a restaurant table leg. Dadbin’s longer-term goal is interchangeable straps and hardware so owners can mix finishes and colors like Lego pieces instead of buying a new leash.