Tom founded Get Joy in 2018, shortly after his Golden Retriever, Cooper, became ill with Lymphoma. Tom realized that, as nutritional wellness became a key component for humans, far too many dogs were stuck eating kibble and other highly processed foods. That’s when he decided to drive a shift in dogs’ nutritional paradigm.

After consulting with veterinarians and vet nutritionists, Tom discovered — and prioritized — three wellness pillars of dogs’ health: Nutrition, genetics, and environment. At Get Joy, our focus is on the most important and controllable pillar: Nutrition. This commitment was born out of an ingrained passion to make a difference in our dogs’ lives.

Tom credits Dr. Kendra Pope, company advisor, with helping him understand the healing principles that are possible through nutrition. Dr. Pope moved quickly to aid Cooper with fresh ingredients and without additives or preservatives — only the ingredients that would best drive wellness and prevention. Farm-to-table became farm-to-bowl.

Thanks to his new nutritional regimen, Cooper lived for another 20 months. That meant 20 extra months with Tom’s family and, while losing a great friend is always hard, the lessons learned are now being put into practice at Get Joy.