Santa Monica-based dog-walking startup Wag Labs Inc. has appointed Garrett Smallwood, the company’s vice president of product and partnerships, as its new chief executive.

Smallwood on Nov. 27 replaced Hillary Schneider, who left Wag to become CEO and board president at Redwood City-based digital photography firm Shutterfly Inc. Schneider starts her new role with Shutterfly on Jan. 15.

“Garrett is a key member of the Wag management team,” Schneider said. “He has led efforts to diversify the company’s product offerings (and) is also leading the execution of the company’s strategy of growing through channel partnerships, the first of which is Wag’s recently announced relationship with Petco.”

Petco and Wag launched a partnership roughly four months ago to advertise Wag’s pet-sitting services on the Petco website.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Wag has been exploring a sale to Petco. Both companies have declined to comment on the rumors.

“Wag has a great brand, the best app, a talented team, and a community of pet caregivers who are committed to providing an excellent experience, (and) these are the building blocks for our future success,” Smallwood said in a statement.

Wag has raised nearly $362 million to date, according to industry tracker PitchBook Data Inc. Japanese tech conglomerate Softbank Group Corp.’s investment arm Softbank Investment Advisers invested $300 million in Wag, serving as the sole investor for the company’s January 2018 Series D round.

Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.