Plum dog trainer featured on Bloomberg TV’s ‘World's Greatest!’

If you look at the logo of Say It Once Dog Training, you will see a friendly, well-trained canine.

You may not see it for what it has become, a shrine to a man’s best friend.

Vinnie Somma adopted Trigger, the dog the logo is based on, 11 years ago. Somma’s training of the English mastiff inspired the formation of a company that recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary and was selected to appear on Bloomberg TV’s “World’s Greatest!”

Interestingly enough, if you had asked Somma prior to him starting Say It Once, he likely would’ve told you that he had a different dream.

“I was a hockey player, and I thought that was going to be my entire life,” he said.

He played for Plum Senior High School’s varsity team from 2006-09 and was good enough that he moved to Chicago at 18 to play in the North American Hockey League. Concussions though, led to an early retirement.

Around that time, he wanted another dog. But first, his parents made him seek out an uncle who was a trainer in the 1980s and ’90s.

“I got to the point where I was probably spending more time on the phone with my Uncle Andy talking dogs (than) I was spending time doing anything else,” said Somma. “Every day, I was just fascinated by the change you can see in dogs through proper education and training.”

After spending some time learning how to train dogs with his uncle, Somma adopted Trigger. He became the face of Say It Once Dog Training and the best friend of Somma.

Sadly, Trigger passed away in 2022, but he lives on in the company’s image. He will be featured to even bigger heights going forward, whether it’s in the logo for Somma’s new nonprofit — Say It Once Rescue League, which assists in training shelter dogs to help get them adopted — or in new markets like Nashville, Tenn., where a Say It Again location opened last year.

Dog trainers across the country have used the rise of social media to their advantage in starting businesses, and Somma in particular has gained a large degree of popularity on Instagram. His digital presence was accelerated by the onset of the covid-19 pandemic.

“The company does not look now what it looked like back then, but it still has that same initial feel of helping people and training dogs,” he said. “The rate at which we’re able to help people and train dogs is growing. I couldn’t do it without somebody next to me, and I have a lot of good people sitting next to me. That’s for damn sure.”

For example, he cited trainers Anthony Manning and Jake Duel, who have successfully entered the Nashville market.

It’s been a period of great success for the company, and what better way to highlight it than an appearance on a show named “World’s Greatest!” It’s an achievement that was highly competitive to receive, some would say as competitive as a hockey game.

Say It Once was chosen after first being contacted by show representatives who explained that they were looking at hundreds of different dog training businesses to feature. Somma’s company then made the cut of 10 finalists, and after an interview process, he was informed of Say It Once’s selection to appear on the show.

Now in its 17th season, the show highlights people, places and businesses deemed to be among the greatest in various categories. This particular episode was filmed in December, when a camera crew followed the Say It Once team to several one-on-one training sessions plus a group session at Boyce Park in Plum with more than 70 dogs and their owners.

“That is just a show of our community,” said Somma. “That’s the biggest part of our community, our group classes, getting people together to train together, all for the benefit of their dog.”

This isn’t the first national TV appearance for Somma. He has appeared on national news programs such as “Today” and “Good Morning America.”

He’s also a social media influencer, with upward of 400,000 followers on Instagram.

“This one means more than those other ones,” he said about the “World’s Greatest!” episode. “It was cool to be on ‘Good Morning America,’ but this is about our team. This is about us. This isn’t about anything more than a high-quality team.”

But the story of Say It Once Dog Training is also about a high-quality dog who was also a high-quality best friend. His adoption set forth this life for Somma all those years ago, and now the logo with Trigger’s image is about to be seen by a national audience.

And perhaps adding another meaningful moment to the achievement, the episode could possibly appear around Somma’s birthday on Feb. 25. It takes a few months after filming for the episode to air, which could set things up for one final birthday present from Somma’s best friend.