How supporting pet health can "return the favor" to dogs
To mark National Pet Month, we're celebrating the bond between dogs and the people who love them. (Sponsored by The Farmer's Dog.)
The company's CEO and co-founder Jonathan Regev said the idea for the brand came from one special dog.
His friend Brett Podolsky had a dog named Jada who was "constantly sick," Regev said. Podolsky "always had to take her outside" because of constant stomach issues, he recalled. One day, Jada's vet suggested feeding her home-cooked meals.
"At first it was shocking to me. I thought it was crazy, giving his dog homemade food," Regev said.
"It totally changed her life," he said. "That's when we started looking into dog food and seeing the whole system was broken."
Traditional dog food is "ultra-processed," Regev said, and even fresh options didn't always "have all the right vitamins and minerals." The pair began working together to create what would eventually become The Farmer's Dog.