Tonya Coulthard: what do seals have to do with dogs?

I’m Tonya Coulthard, co-founder of B&T Pets, a Canadian women-owned and operated company committed to improving the healthspan of pets through single-ingredient, minimally processed treats made from ethically sourced novel proteins.My path to founding B&T Pets wasn’t a straight line. I earned my MSc from the University of British Columbia in 2005 and spent 18 years working alongside scientific researchers studying some of the most prevalent human diseases — including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, asthma, and COPD.I loved my career, but over time I felt pulled towards a chage — one that allowed me to be home more with my children, who were then just 4 and 6 years old. That change led me to a new question: How else could I make a meaningful impact?Our first dogs, Baron and Tessa, were both allergy dogs. We struggled to find trusted Canadian-made treats with clean, single ingredients — and that challenge became the beginning of B&T Pets. Today, our Bullet carries forward their legacy and reminds us every day how lucky we are to be his humans.As we neared the end of Baron and Tessa’s time with us, I watched a 5-month-old Bullet zoom around the backyard and I kept wondering:“How can we delay the onset of age-related illness and debilitating pain — not just for Bullet, but for every pet?”That question changed everything. It became the spark that shifted me from employee to entrepreneur — and gave B&T Pets its purpose.Today, every small handmade batch is prepared from Canadian-sourced ingredients (except kangaroo) and designed to support longevity, mobility, and overall wellbeing. From seal (which I affectionately call my heart protein) and venison to kangaroo, duck, rabbit, and walleye — every protein has a purpose.We believe that our pets depend on us to make the right choices for them — we want to help others make those choices too.