Caring for the Ones Who Care About You the Most Caring for the Ones Who Care About You the Most

hen I first learned about the preventative and long-term pet care industry, I must admit that I was a bit put off by the official industry name of “Companion Animals.” To me, it seemed a bit too sterile, just a bit too removed from the experience I have with pets of our own— e.g. “Some animals are companions and some animals are food animals.”

But in reality, a “companion” really does describe our cats, dogs, horses, and other animals that are there for us unconditionally. Whether we’ve had a bad day or a good day, they’re there for us… if we made someone else’s day good or bad, they’re there for us too— no judgement… just like a true companion. you could find new and exciting companies at conferences and expos around the world. But there was a problem: these companies decided (understandably so) that because they were making products for animals, they should represent themselves at animal health conferences (i.e. livestock conferences and expos).

I remember years ago when the companion animal health industry first started to develop beyond commoditized dry food and move into more unique offerings.

What they failed to see in the

Winfancy of the revolution of the pet health industry is that while these animals are just that: animals, there’s also another more powerful, more obvious side to these extended family members… and it’s also ”just that”: they’re actually a part of our family. I’m going to go offWebster here and say that part of what makes a family are things like living in the same home, playing together, traveling together, and having family pictures taken together; all definitions that fit well with how most of us interact with our non-human best friends.

Once this a-ha moment was realized, these pet food pioneers moved their trade show circuit over to those traditionally reserved for human health and supplements— and they met this decision with great and obvious success. As the thinking goes: “If you care enough about your own health, you’re more likely to care about the health of your other family members, including pets.”

Eventually, pet food and pet health-specific companies had found new homes in conferences and expos built specifically for this and the small animal veterinary industry— yet the message to core markets remain: these animals are family members deserving of the same attention, care, and health as their human companions.

SUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS FOR HOST-SPECIFIC STRAINS

Proven palatability, safety, and ability to survive gastric digestion, locate in the large intestine, and proliferate.*

Proven ability to shift microbiome microbial populations.*

Proven preferable health effects— including increased production of short chain fatty acids, reduced infection, reduced inflammation, increased nutrient absorption, and immunomodulation.*

Positive impact on interleukin (cytokine) production which regulates immune response.*

Proven defense against pathogenic bacteria.*

* Claims substantiated by either/ both of TNO (Netherlands) or via three separate EFSA (European regulating body) canine feeding trials (March 2020).

A Divergence From Tradition

In the intervening years, companion animal diets and general health maintenance began to more closely resemble that of humans. with more of a focus on real foods with as little preservatives as reasonable and supplementation with things like live probiotics.

A lot has been discovered in companion animal health in the recent years since science has begun to seriously focus on the challenge. From differences in dosages, animal species, and studies into probiotic efficacy, we’ve learned so much— and yet there’s still an unknown frontier with hope for even greater possibilities in both human and animal health through beneficial bacteria.

UNIQUE & SPECIFIC OFFERINGS

For years, we have offered beneficial bacteria in the companion animal space, with a focus on growing the most powerful and stable organisms for the health of canine, feline, and equine— with some of our select strains isolated from these animal species and grown as host-specific probiotics.

right is a listing of the most common organisms we pro-vide to companion animal health companies— and yet the options we have in sourcing, production, and formulation are nearly endless.