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.
