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.

Laura Sheldon is a Fear Free Certified and Certified Small Animal Massage Therapist with nearly 20 years of experience as a veterinary technician, bringing a deep understanding of anatomy, pathology, and medical conditions to her bodywork sessions. Throughout her clinical career, she gravitated toward the pets who needed emotional support the most—fearful, anxious, and reactive animals who often struggled the most in the traditional veterinary setting. She first began using gentle massage techniques simply as a way to help these pets relax, not realizing that the methods she had intuitively developed were grounded in massage therapy principles. It wasn’t until a close friend—who is a human massage therapist—pointed this out that Laura recognized the impact of what she was doing. This sparked a passion that led her to pursue formal training, expanding her skills to include therapeutic techniques for pain relief while deepening her toolkit for supporting anxious, fearful, and touch-sensitive animals.

Today, Laura works exclusively as a mobile massage therapist, meeting pets where they feel most secure: at home. Her practice is evenly divided between behavioral-focused massage—treating anxiety, reactivity, and touch sensitivity—and therapeutic massage for pain relief and mobility. She believes that massage therapy is just as powerful for emotional wellbeing as it is for physical comfort, and she takes great pride in bringing ease, safety, and connection to every animal she works with. “Your pet’s comfort and wellbeing is my passion!” guides her in every session.

Mary Ellen Goldberg LVT, CVT, SRA, CCRVN, CVPP, VTS-lab animal medicine (research anesthesia-retired), VTS-Physical rehabilitation-retired, VTS-H (anesthesia/analgesia): Mary Ellen Goldberg is a graduate of Harcum College and the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. She worked at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Division of Animal Resources and for Research Scientists advising on their choices for anesthesia and pain management on their protocols. She was a member of VCU’s IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) for 10 years. She has been the instructor of Anesthesia and Pain Management at VetMedTeam, LLC since 2003. She is a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner through IVAPM (International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management). Mary Ellen is retired as a Surgical Research Anesthetist certified through the Academy of Surgical Research. She is a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Veterinary Nurse. (CCRVN). She is currently a member of the IACUC at the Manheimmer Foundation, Inc. Mary Ellen was chosen as NAVTA’s Veterinary Technician of the Year 2017. In 2019, Mary Ellen received the VTS-anesthesia, analgesia – honorary title from the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthesia and Analgesia in November 2019. She received the IVAPM Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2021. Mary Ellen has written several books, and contributed numerous chapters regarding anesthesia, pain management and rehabilitation. She has worked in various aspects of veterinary medicine from small animal and equine to mixed practice, coccidiosis research for a pharmaceutical company, zoo animal medicine and laboratory animal medicine since 1976.