Blog
Bryan Johnson drafts his guard dog into longevity experiments as pet wellness industry hits $3 billion in supplements
“Don’t Die” entrepreneur Bryan Johnson adopted a dog to keep him safe from potential attackers. Now that dog has been drafted to the leading edge of pet longevity.
“I get quite a few death threats, and so she is my guard dog,” said Johnson in an interview with venture capitalist Sarah Guo. “We go everywhere together and we have bonded for the past month.”
Must Read
His new dog, named Katara, is a professionally trained Belgian Malinois. She’s almost two years old, with plenty of life ahead of her. Johnson doesn’t want that to ever change.
“She’s going to become the most measured dog in the world,” said Johnson.” We’re going to do a whole bunch of longevity therapies on her because dogs are amazing.”
Here’s why Johnson’s so interested in Katara’s health — and how the pet wellness industry wants to sell those same ideas to you.
Bryan Johnson’s interest in pet longevity isn’t just for his dog’s sake
From the beginning, Katara was part of Johnson’s personal longevity strategy.
“I got a dog,” reads one of Johnson’s X posts from August. The post included a picture of Johnson, Katara, and Johnson’s girlfriend Kate Tolo. “Dog owners have about a 24% lower risk of dying early. What should I do now?”
If he was looking for a long-lived canine companion, a Belgian Malinois is a good choice. Unlike many purebred dogs — especially ones big enough to serve as a guard dog — Belgian Malinois are a relatively healthy breed, living up to 10 to 14 years.
They’re also very high energy, making them a great companion for a man who exercises as frequently as Johnson does. Their intelligence makes them very trainable, another good trait for guard dogs.
It turns out that Katara’s role as a longevity guinea pig — guinea dog? — isn’t solely for her benefit either.
Right now, Johnson is starting her longevity routine by figuring out the best foods for her health. But he’s thinking of branching out into medications as well — and he believes medication testing on dogs could benefit humans, too.
“It’s remarkable how much dogs and humans have in common,” said Johnson according to Business Insider. “When you read through the literature on dogs, and you just replace humans with dogs, there are so many similarities.”
