Jeni Mather Wins 2026 Pet Care Business Excellence Award in the Industry Leader Category

On Friday, October 9, 2026, Jeni Mather, President and Founder of JM Pet Resort & Veterinary Clinic, received the 2026 Pet Care Business Excellence Award in the Industry Leader category. 

The award is presented by the International Boarding & Pet Services Association (IBPSA), a professional organization for the businesses that board, groom, train, and care for pets. Each year, IBPSA recognizes people raising the standard for how pets are cared for when their families can’t be there. 

For us, that standard lives in the details: who’s watching each dog in playgroup, how every team member is trained, and the preparedness procedures in place for if something goes wrong.  Jeni has spent nearly three decades raising it, inside our building and far beyond it. 

Leadership Beyond the Walls of JM Pet Resort & Veterinary Clinic

Long before this award, Jeni was working with dogs who had no one else in their corner. She founded the Blue Dog Shelter, which found homes for more than 1,800 dogs and raised over $500,000 for canine welfare. 

Today, that same commitment is reaching pet care across Massachusetts. 

Ollie’s Law, named in memory of a young pup named Ollie, set the stage for the state’s first operational standards for boarding kennels and dog daycares. In March 2025, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) convened the Ollie’s Law Advisory Committee, which Jeni went on to chair. Alongside representatives from MDAR, IBPSA, and others, the committee has advised the state on standards that will shape how pets are cared for across the Commonwealth for years to come. 

“When I started [this business] in my garage, there was no rulebook for how a place like ours should run. Now, I get to help shape one. To be recognized by people who do this work every day and know exactly what it asks of you means more than I can say. This award belongs to our whole team.”

 - Jeni Mather

The Work Behind the Care

In 1998, Jeni was in her twenties, a Stonehill College biology graduate following a love of animals she couldn’t fully put into words at the time. She opened the business out of her garage (formerly JM K-9 Training), and in many ways, she grew up alongside the business and the people who joined her along the way. 

Many of those people are still by her side today, including four members of our senior leadership team with over 90 years of combined experience at JM Pet Resort. 

For pet parents, that kind of longevity shows up in ways most may never see. The people who built our standards are still here, teaching them to the people who carry them out. When a protocol changes, it's guided by people with decades of experience. The team members caring for your pets are learning from leaders who have been here through every stage of that growth. 

From her garage to a 10,000-square-foot Resort with a Veterinary Clinic operating out of a van in the parking lot, to the 34,000-square-foot facility with more than 100 team members it is today, Jeni’s growth has always been driven by a commitment to providing exceptional care.  

Jeni has said that the greatest reward of leadership is watching team members discover what they’re capable of and grow into leaders themselves. That’s how a standard of care outlasts any one person: it gets passed on.

What This Award Recognizes

The Pet Care Business Excellence Awards, known in the industry as the IBBYs, are decided each year by IBPSA’s IBBY Selection Committee. Nominees are measured on integrity and customer service, involvement in their community and their profession, and excellence in animal welfare.

Jeni’s career exemplifies those standards on paper and in practice. She is a Certified Dog Trainer and holds the Certified Professional Animal Care Operator (CPACO) credential, the highest level offered by the Professional Animal Care Certification Council (PACCC). Earning it takes years of documented experience, references from veterinarians and industry professionals, and an in-depth exam. We also encourage interested team members to pursue PACCC certification to earn their Certified Professional Animal Care Provider (CPACP) certification.

Her commitment extends into the community, too. Jeni has previously served on the Metro South Chamber of Commerce Board, and in 2025 she was the recipient of the ATHENA Leadership Award for her leadership and commitment to helping others grow. 

Jeni accepted the award at the CANIS Conference (Canine Advocacy, Networking, Innovation, and Science) in Schaumburg, IL.

Celebrating Jeni Mather

To learn more about IBPSA’s work across the pet care industry and to see previous years’ IBBY recipients, visit ibpsa.com/the-ibbys.

Please join us in congratulating Jeni on this well-earned recognition. Her leadership shapes our team at JM Pet Resort & Veterinary Clinic every day, and her work on Ollie’s Law is helping set a higher standard for pet care across Massachusetts and beyond.