All My Children Wear Fur Coats with Peggy Hoyt

Animal Biome - Holly Ganz

February 14, 2023 Holly Ganz Episode 5
All My Children Wear Fur Coats with Peggy Hoyt
Animal Biome - Holly Ganz
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode of All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Holly Ganz, the Chief Science Officer of AnimalBiome.

AnimalBiome is a company that specializes in microbiome science for pets. They have a large database of gut health information and help veterinarians and pet owners treat gut microbiome problems. Their goal is to improve the health and lifespan of pets through microbiome science and their innovative products. 

Listen in to learn more!

Support the show

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Welcome to All My Children Wear Fur Coats,

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with Peggy Hoyt.

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Our goal is to keep loved pets in loving

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homes by educating pet parents about the importance of

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ensuring every pet has a forever home.

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For more information about creating a legacy for

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your pet or to listen to archived shows,

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visit ANIMALCARETRUSTUSA.ORG or LEGACYFORYOURPET.COM.

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Join, your host, author, estate planning

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attorney, and animal advocate, Peggy Hoyt.

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Hello, pet lovers.

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Welcome to All My Children Wear Fur Coats.

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I'm your host, Peggy Hoyt.

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This show is brought to you by the

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law offices of Hoyt and Bryan, where we

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create estate plans for pets and their people.

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Also brought to you by Animal Care

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Trust USA, a national nonprofit dedicated to

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keeping loved pets in loving homes.

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We do this by educating pet parents about the importance

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of getting a pet trust for their loved pets.

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We also provide trustee services.

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And today it is our pleasure to introduce Holly Ganz.

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She is the Chief Science Officer of Animal Biome.

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And I'm going to tell you a little bit about

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Holly after she gets a chance to say hello. Hi, Holly.

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Hi.

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How are you, Peggy? Good.

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It's great to have you back.

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Thank you for having me.

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I'm excited to be here.

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All right, let me tell folks a little bit about you.

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Holly received her Ph.D. from UC Davis and MS

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from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San

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Diego, and a BS from George Washington University.

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She has studied the interaction between microbes

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and their hosts for over 20 years.

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When she's not studying the microbiomes of pets

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and wildlife, Holly can be found roaming the

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East Bay hillsides with Carlton and their rescue

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herding dogs, Charlie and Darwin.

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And Holly has been a guest on our show in the

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past, but we're happy to welcome her back and hear all

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about what's happening in the world of dog and cat biome.

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So, Holly, what is an animal biome and why do we care?

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Yeah, exactly.

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This is the most essential thing.

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Why should you care?

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So the microbiome, and usually we mean like the

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gut microbiome when we talk about that, is sort

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of community of bacteria, fungi, little viruses, other things

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that live inside of us and inside our pets.

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And they play really critical roles, not just

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in digestion and making nutrients more available, but

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they also make things like some neurotransmitters.

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So they affect there's a gut brain

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connection, there's a gut skin connection.

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More than half the immune cells in

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the body occur along the GI tract.

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And so they are foundational for training

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the immune system to function properly, and

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then they're constantly interacting with it.

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So I'm all about the gut microbiome

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because it's really important for health.

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Absolutely, but how did you get

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interested in this field of work?

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Well, I mean, I'm a biologist, so I liked

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things like parasites and bacteria, but I liked them

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in association with animals because I just come from,

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I think, many generations family who loves their cats

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and dogs, and my mom's family used to have

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all kinds of other animals on the farm too.

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So I don't know, I just decided but I wanted

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to do something related to animals and it seemed I

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also got really excited about the fact that we could

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use genetic sequencing to characterize the whole community.

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And so it was very exciting new technology that

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allowed us to sort of suddenly open our eyes

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to the vast diversity of sort of this, like,

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rainforest that lives in our gut.

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A rainforest that lives in our gut.

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I love the way you explain that.

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So it's complicated, but

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it's really important, definitely.

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So I'll ask you about horses later, but

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we're focusing right now on cats and dogs

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and tell us specifically how the health of

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the gut microbiome affects our animal's health.

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Right.

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So we know that the gut microbiome is

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playing all these roles and keeping things going.

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So like, one thing that's really

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important is like bile acid metabolism.

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So the body produces bile acids, some of

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them get recycled, but some of them actually

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need to get conjugated by bacteria.

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And when your cat or dog develops a GI condition,

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that's one of the things that you can break down.

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And I think the big thing is that I started

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talking to people about their originally like, sort of with

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pet cats and about these cats that had chronic diarrhea.

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And when I looked at the composition of bacteria, I

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found these cats were really depleted and good bacteria.

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And a lot of them had had antibiotic exposure,

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and sometimes it was prophylactic, like they went in

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for a dental and then had clavamox or something,

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given it was quite strong antibiotics.

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And then their cat had

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diarrhea that just never resolved.

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Similar things with dogs.

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Usually, it's metronidazole.

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My own dog ended up having hemorrhagic

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gastroenteritis, which is bloody diarrhea and

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vomiting, and she had to be hospitalized.

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And we ended up on this whole thing where she

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constantly was flaring up and we had to have her

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on one chicken and rice diet, only one treat.

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And if she ate some random thing on a

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walk, then we have another bout of it.

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And it was really scary.

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And so I wanted to try and help solve some of

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these problems for people, such as a microbiologist can do.

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And the microbiome is a way for

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a microbiologist to contribute absolutely well.

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And like you, I have a little dog who's prone

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to that gastroenteritis and have had several bouts of that

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and not only is it scary, but it is life

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threatening and it doesn't resolve easily without medication.

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That's right.

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So my vet gave me metronidazole and

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I could have as much as I wanted.

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But then we were basically on this sort of

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medical merry-go-around that which people had been describing

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to me for their cats as well.

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So we came up with a way basically to

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reinoculate the cat or dog with these good bacteria.

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And so one of the ways you

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do that is with fecal transplants.

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So talk about that.

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Yeah, so I know it's a bit different, but

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we need these good bacteria in our guts.

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And if we have a lot of antibiotics

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or maybe some people or some pets, especially

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like, okay, like a kitten that's orphaned by

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their mom, they didn't really get nursed.

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They might not get all the good stuff to

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begin with because we have to get a lot

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of them from our moms and then healthy diets.

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And so it depends on early life experiences.

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You can start off depleted.

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C section is another contributor, like shown with

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people, like, children born by C-section are

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more likely to develop obesity and also asthma.

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There can be a chicken and egg thing with microbiome stuff,

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but we seem to see this with skin conditions and some

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dog breeds that are also delivered by C-section.

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And so with a fecal transplant, basically we're

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taking stool from a carefully screened cat or

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dog that's healthy, has no health conditions, doesn't

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take any medication, because medications can also be

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carried through fecal material.

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We actually biophilize it in a freeze-dryer.

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So we're drying it out, we powder it, and then we

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put it into oral capsules to make it super convenient.

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And they look the same as a probiotic.

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But instead of having lactobacillus and some other more

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common bacteria and probiotics, this is containing like hundreds

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of thousands of different organisms that are found in

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the gut of a healthy cat or dog, and they're way

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more effective than a probiotic.

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So in human medicine, there's tons of work that's been

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going on to try and recreate these, and we're trying

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to do the same thing for cats and dogs.

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So we have cocktails coming where we're just

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like, we're going to isolate them, we're going

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to grow them up and combine them.

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But even in human medicine, they're finding

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like, you're never going to replace FMT.

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It's always going to be a really valuable approach.

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I had a family member who actually ended

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up having to have that procedure, fecal transplant,

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because of ongoing bouts of digestive issues forever

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and ever and ever and ever.

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And it was actually the thing that cured that person.

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So it's quite amazing.

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And the fact that you could build

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a company around it, I love.

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So you said, wow, I'm passionate about this thing, and

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now I'm going to build this company and I'm going

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to call it Animal Biome, which kind of leaves the

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door open for not just dogs and cats, but potentially

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other animals down the road, I hope, right?

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That's right.

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We're going to be doing some pilot work in horses

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this year, but we're trying to really make sure we

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do everything we can for cats and dogs.

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But a lot of people tell us

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the horses have some similar issues.

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They are very different in what gut

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bacteria they have because they're grazers and

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their diet is completely different.

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I'll have to talk to you later about horses.

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Yeah, but I think the equine world will love you,

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because I think one of the things that maybe people

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that are not familiar with horses don't know is that

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horses digestive systems are so fragile that horses die very

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easily from complications related to digestion.

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Yeah, horses aren't like they're supposed

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to be grazing all the time. Right.

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It's a very delicate system.

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Like, cats and dogs, they can sort of feast or famine.

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They can eat a whole carcass.

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They can eat dead things that are full

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of nasty toxins and pathogens and be fine.

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I don't recommend it, but, like, historically, they can

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do that, and that horse could not do that.

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We can't do it either.

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No, definitely not.

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So, yeah, I'm very excited that you're

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thinking about adding horses to the myth.

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I will talk to you offline about that.

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But lots and lots of opportunities I think, there.

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So for our listeners, I want you to be

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aware that we are talking to Holly Ganz.

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She's the chief science officer of Animal Biome.

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You can find information out about this company ANIMALBIOME.COM

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and right now focusing on dogs and cats.

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But I notice you have on your website, Holly,

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a quiz that you can take to find some

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solutions for symptoms that might be plaguing your pet.

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Tell us about that.

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Yeah, we call it through our pet health assessment tool, and

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it's a way to sort of learn a bit more about

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what we do and how we might be able to help

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with the problems that you're facing for your pet.

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So we're really trying to say, like, okay, if

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they have these digestive symptoms, here are some things

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that are better alternatives to antibiotics that might be

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able to help solve the problem today.

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And also the skin conditions, too.

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Yeah, and so many dogs have skin conditions, but

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I love that it says, okay, what's your problem?

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Allergies bad breath, diarrhea, gut indigestion,

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oral health, skin and coat.

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And I think about my little

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Pomeranian who—ugh, bad breath. Right.

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And I bet a lot of people can relate to that.

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So definitely check this out.

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Take the quizzes, look at the

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products, see if there's something available.

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And then do you offer a screening test for pets?

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Yes, we do have a microbiome test.

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We have one for gut health and another for oral health.

254
00:12:05,932 --> 00:12:08,076
And so basically we're looking at, like,

255
00:12:08,076 --> 00:12:13,292
are there bacteria associated with disease or

256
00:12:13,292 --> 00:12:16,108
health and sort of making recommendations for

257
00:12:16,108 --> 00:12:19,644
how you can better balance that community. Awesome.

258
00:12:19,644 --> 00:12:20,386
What's involved?

259
00:12:20,386 --> 00:12:22,608
You have to send in a bit of poop if

260
00:12:22,608 --> 00:12:25,024
it's the gut health and if it's oral health, you

261
00:12:25,024 --> 00:12:27,232
have to do swabbing, flying the gut line.

262
00:12:27,232 --> 00:12:28,672
It's pretty quick.

263
00:12:28,672 --> 00:12:32,852
And is that something that you would necessarily recommend that

264
00:12:32,852 --> 00:12:37,562
somebody do on an annual basis just as a baseline

265
00:12:37,562 --> 00:12:41,280
and to kind of keep a finger on what's happening.

266
00:12:41,970 --> 00:12:43,076
I recommend it.

267
00:12:43,076 --> 00:12:45,684
I think that it's good to know, for

268
00:12:45,684 --> 00:12:49,528
example, with a guide test in particular, if

269
00:12:49,528 --> 00:12:51,848
they are imbalanced and it's something that can

270
00:12:51,848 --> 00:12:55,006
be adjusted through small diet shift.

271
00:12:55,006 --> 00:12:56,668
It's a good idea to go ahead and do

272
00:12:56,668 --> 00:12:59,676
that because well, this is more theoretical idea.

273
00:12:59,676 --> 00:13:03,740
But like in ecology, they've done this with in

274
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Florida with islands, right, that are hit by hurricanes.

275
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If some big event happens, like a hurricane hits

276
00:13:10,210 --> 00:13:12,528
an island, the more diverse that island is, the

277
00:13:12,528 --> 00:13:15,926
faster it recovers from that major disruption.

278
00:13:15,926 --> 00:13:17,824
And this is what we expect

279
00:13:17,824 --> 00:13:19,798
is also true for the microbiome.

280
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So it needs to be sort of more diverse

281
00:13:21,578 --> 00:13:23,626
and more balanced to be able to be resilient

282
00:13:23,626 --> 00:13:28,612
to something like antibiotics or a gerd infection or

283
00:13:28,612 --> 00:13:30,900
maybe just even a big stressful event.

284
00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:34,788
Like having your person go on

285
00:13:34,788 --> 00:13:36,682
vacation for two weeks is stressful.

286
00:13:36,682 --> 00:13:39,992
And sometimes they get the IBS thing and stuff too.

287
00:13:39,992 --> 00:13:41,160
Yeah, absolutely.

288
00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:42,456
That's a good point.

289
00:13:42,456 --> 00:13:45,016
And so same thing for cats, though, right?

290
00:13:45,016 --> 00:13:46,550
Yeah, absolutely.

291
00:13:46,550 --> 00:13:49,906
All right, well, I'll have some questions for you offline

292
00:13:49,906 --> 00:13:53,180
about that too, since I have two cats as well.

293
00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:56,012
So the way we live today and the way

294
00:13:56,012 --> 00:13:59,926
we feed our pets, is that something that's contributing

295
00:13:59,926 --> 00:14:05,310
to the problems that we're seeing in animal microbiomes?

296
00:14:05,310 --> 00:14:06,992
That has a huge effect.

297
00:14:06,992 --> 00:14:11,312
And basically, the thought is today, especially in

298
00:14:11,312 --> 00:14:16,474
human medicine and human health, is that it's

299
00:14:16,474 --> 00:14:17,988
great that we moved from sort of being

300
00:14:17,988 --> 00:14:20,036
hunter gatherers to having farming, right.

301
00:14:20,036 --> 00:14:21,668
And then to sort of making more

302
00:14:21,668 --> 00:14:23,802
and more efficiencies in our food production.

303
00:14:23,802 --> 00:14:26,938
But what we think is what that's done is it's

304
00:14:26,938 --> 00:14:30,318
narrowed the diversity of gut bacteria because we're not feeding

305
00:14:30,318 --> 00:14:32,104
as much variety of food and we're not having the

306
00:14:32,104 --> 00:14:34,312
seasonal changes that we would have naturally had.

307
00:14:34,312 --> 00:14:35,778
And we know that the microbiome

308
00:14:35,778 --> 00:14:38,076
is responsive to that also.

309
00:14:38,076 --> 00:14:40,610
I think we started to eat less and less fiber

310
00:14:40,610 --> 00:14:45,560
as we became wealthier and had more opportunity to eat,

311
00:14:46,090 --> 00:14:50,880
like, sugary things or lots of high-quality meat that

312
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,008
our ancestors didn't have the opportunity to have.

313
00:14:53,008 --> 00:14:55,008
So they had to fill themselves with more

314
00:14:55,008 --> 00:14:59,024
things that we cut off the asparagus at

315
00:14:59,024 --> 00:15:00,742
the bottom because it's a little bit tough.

316
00:15:00,742 --> 00:15:02,768
But actually eating that might actually

317
00:15:02,768 --> 00:15:04,090
be better for our gut.

318
00:15:04,830 --> 00:15:06,436
And so diet is really

319
00:15:06,436 --> 00:15:09,098
important, especially, like, okay, cats.

320
00:15:09,098 --> 00:15:10,842
Cats are obligate carnivores.

321
00:15:10,842 --> 00:15:14,424
I think pet food for cats wasn't ideal for

322
00:15:14,424 --> 00:15:18,290
a while because it wasn't high enough in protein.

323
00:15:20,710 --> 00:15:23,518
It had too many carbohydrates from the macronutrient.

324
00:15:23,518 --> 00:15:26,456
While it's like a cat can be healthy on it.

325
00:15:26,456 --> 00:15:29,750
We have an epidemic of obesity in cats and dogs.

326
00:15:30,730 --> 00:15:32,604
And I think with cats in particular, I

327
00:15:32,604 --> 00:15:34,402
think some of these conditions, like chronic kidney

328
00:15:34,402 --> 00:15:37,244
disease and others did arise from some of

329
00:15:37,244 --> 00:15:40,454
the sort of convenient food that got developed.

330
00:15:40,454 --> 00:15:44,288
And these things are getting rectified, like we're still

331
00:15:44,288 --> 00:15:47,158
learning about how to produce these processed foods.

332
00:15:47,158 --> 00:15:51,728
But I absolutely think that across both human and

333
00:15:51,728 --> 00:15:55,584
animal health that these changes to diet have been

334
00:15:55,584 --> 00:15:57,412
recent, like in the last 100 years. Right.

335
00:15:57,412 --> 00:15:59,588
And there are probably effects that we didn't know to

336
00:15:59,588 --> 00:16:02,346
test because we didn't really know about gut bacteria.

337
00:16:02,346 --> 00:16:05,432
Well, and I noticed another kind of interesting thing

338
00:16:05,432 --> 00:16:08,232
on the cat side is that it looks like

339
00:16:08,232 --> 00:16:11,592
there might be a connection between hairballs and

340
00:16:11,592 --> 00:16:15,070
cats and the health of their gut.

341
00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:16,140
That's right.

342
00:16:16,140 --> 00:16:21,106
So one big factor there is that the gut

343
00:16:21,106 --> 00:16:23,740
motility is what helps the hairball pass through.

344
00:16:23,740 --> 00:16:27,042
And if gut function is impaired, motility slows

345
00:16:27,042 --> 00:16:28,652
down, and then they can't pass them.

346
00:16:28,652 --> 00:16:30,352
And then you end up with these cats that are

347
00:16:30,352 --> 00:16:35,392
constantly trying to cough back up the hairball and yeah,

348
00:16:35,392 --> 00:16:37,488
so that's actually why I have a little collection of

349
00:16:37,488 --> 00:16:40,368
photos that people send me their cat hairballs, and I'm

350
00:16:40,368 --> 00:16:43,490
hoping to do a study on them, hopefully this year.

351
00:16:43,490 --> 00:16:46,948
Okay, well, that is interesting and I'm sure all

352
00:16:46,948 --> 00:16:49,290
of the cat owners out there will be grateful

353
00:16:49,290 --> 00:16:54,450
for that research and its resulting solutions.

354
00:16:56,150 --> 00:17:00,968
So talk a little bit more about what a

355
00:17:00,968 --> 00:17:07,480
fecal transplant is, when it would be advised and

356
00:17:08,810 --> 00:17:11,900
whether it's something that is a one and done

357
00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:15,030
or something that might have to happen more frequently.

358
00:17:15,770 --> 00:17:17,420
Right, great question.

359
00:17:17,420 --> 00:17:20,854
So the way our approach is that we have these oral

360
00:17:20,854 --> 00:17:26,144
capsules that are shelf-stable and they're given through one or

361
00:17:26,144 --> 00:17:29,888
two capsules per day for a month and depends on their

362
00:17:29,888 --> 00:17:32,460
size, if they're bigger than they might need more.

363
00:17:33,070 --> 00:17:35,876
We have very small capsules so we can help

364
00:17:35,876 --> 00:17:38,388
the cats and the small dogs all the way

365
00:17:38,388 --> 00:17:40,564
up to sort of our capsules are all still

366
00:17:40,564 --> 00:17:43,076
smaller than what would be the size for human.

367
00:17:43,076 --> 00:17:46,452
And so we have three sizes of capsules and so the

368
00:17:46,452 --> 00:17:48,484
question of whether or not to want it done, so I

369
00:17:48,484 --> 00:17:51,368
think I recommend it in the case of so, like my

370
00:17:51,368 --> 00:17:53,960
veterinarian, her dog was one of the first ones.

371
00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:55,528
Like when I was doing my dogs to try

372
00:17:55,528 --> 00:17:58,340
it, her dog just his stool was a little

373
00:17:58,340 --> 00:18:01,202
bit soft, didn't firm upright after puppyhood.

374
00:18:01,202 --> 00:18:03,116
So she did it one and done.

375
00:18:03,116 --> 00:18:05,800
I think, honestly, in that case, I don't know if

376
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,386
you need a full 30 days, but it can't hurt.

377
00:18:08,386 --> 00:18:10,140
And so the idea is, like, you're taking

378
00:18:10,140 --> 00:18:13,184
this community of good bacteria and you're just

379
00:18:13,184 --> 00:18:14,208
giving a little bit every day.

380
00:18:14,208 --> 00:18:16,816
And I view it as like, seeding them into

381
00:18:16,816 --> 00:18:19,008
the gut, and hopefully they're going to establish and

382
00:18:19,008 --> 00:18:21,530
take hold and then support their whole lifetime.

383
00:18:21,530 --> 00:18:25,028
If they have a chronic GI condition like

384
00:18:25,028 --> 00:18:28,212
we've talked about with my dog, Yuki, I

385
00:18:28,212 --> 00:18:31,130
definitely think 30 days is essential.

386
00:18:31,130 --> 00:18:32,634
In her case, for the hemorrhagic

387
00:18:32,634 --> 00:18:34,740
enteritis, it was one and done.

388
00:18:34,740 --> 00:18:36,728
She didn't have that problem and she

389
00:18:36,728 --> 00:18:38,500
could eat other food again later.

390
00:18:39,030 --> 00:18:41,294
But some of these IBD cases, both cats

391
00:18:41,294 --> 00:18:42,904
and dogs, sometimes they need to stay on

392
00:18:42,904 --> 00:18:45,064
it longer, and so it does depend.

393
00:18:45,064 --> 00:18:47,512
One rule of thumb that people like to point

394
00:18:47,512 --> 00:18:50,242
to is it depends how long they've been sick.

395
00:18:50,242 --> 00:18:54,508
If they've developed a chronic state of inflammation, it

396
00:18:54,508 --> 00:18:57,390
can take months for that to settle down.

397
00:18:57,390 --> 00:19:00,490
I can see where that would be a possibility.

398
00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:05,136
We just got to stay in tune with

399
00:19:05,136 --> 00:19:08,438
our animals, make sure that we're paying attention,

400
00:19:08,438 --> 00:19:13,108
and that if we observe these symptoms, if

401
00:19:13,108 --> 00:19:15,364
you will, that we do something about it.

402
00:19:15,364 --> 00:19:18,372
So that raises another question, though, for me.

403
00:19:18,372 --> 00:19:22,132
So as pet owners, we can send in these

404
00:19:22,132 --> 00:19:26,158
requests for tests and you'll give us the results.

405
00:19:26,158 --> 00:19:28,942
And I noticed we can even schedule a 15-minute

406
00:19:28,942 --> 00:19:32,660
a telephone call to discuss results if we have questions.

407
00:19:33,990 --> 00:19:37,964
Do we need a prescription, a veterinary prescription, in order

408
00:19:37,964 --> 00:19:42,946
to, A, order the test, or B, get the solution

409
00:19:42,946 --> 00:19:45,724
so you do not need a prescription today.

410
00:19:45,724 --> 00:19:49,852
I will say, though, that once we have our new

411
00:19:49,852 --> 00:19:51,872
probiotics on the market, I think our plan is that

412
00:19:51,872 --> 00:19:55,872
eventually, we will shift the FMT capsules to be such

413
00:19:55,872 --> 00:19:58,022
that you'll have to request a prescription.

414
00:19:58,022 --> 00:20:01,184
But right now we're not there yet, so we

415
00:20:01,184 --> 00:20:04,740
don't have a better alternative to give you today.

416
00:20:04,740 --> 00:20:07,890
So it's coming maybe next year, we'll see.

417
00:20:07,890 --> 00:20:09,444
Get under the wire and get it.

418
00:20:09,444 --> 00:20:11,332
While you don't need a prescription to

419
00:20:11,332 --> 00:20:13,896
get it yet, the testing will always

420
00:20:13,896 --> 00:20:17,060
be available without a prescription. Okay.

421
00:20:17,590 --> 00:20:20,302
And do you offer multi-pet discounts?

422
00:20:20,302 --> 00:20:22,580
I think that's something people would ask.

423
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:26,204
Yeah, we do try to give discounts as much as possible.

424
00:20:26,204 --> 00:20:33,260
And we do have a two-test discounted kit on our site.

425
00:20:33,260 --> 00:20:34,440
All right, awesome.

426
00:20:35,450 --> 00:20:36,600
Anything else?

427
00:20:37,210 --> 00:20:40,352
Are there questions I'm not asking that you feel like

428
00:20:40,352 --> 00:20:43,206
I should be putting out there so that pet owners

429
00:20:43,206 --> 00:20:47,952
have a full feel for what animal biome does?

430
00:20:47,952 --> 00:20:50,886
Well, I think in addition to the testing

431
00:20:50,886 --> 00:20:53,152
and the Gut Restore, which is what we

432
00:20:53,152 --> 00:20:56,138
call our oral fecal transplant capsules, they're delivered

433
00:20:56,138 --> 00:20:57,690
orally, but they're for the gut.

434
00:20:57,690 --> 00:21:01,390
We have a yeast-based probiotic that we call Sbou.

435
00:21:01,970 --> 00:21:03,876
Our marketing team thinks we need a better name,

436
00:21:03,876 --> 00:21:07,834
but as a scientist, I thought it was cute. Espalardia.

437
00:21:07,834 --> 00:21:09,758
It's a great alternative to Metronidazole.

438
00:21:09,758 --> 00:21:11,032
Really recommend it.

439
00:21:11,032 --> 00:21:13,608
We know from our research with FMT that it

440
00:21:13,608 --> 00:21:17,590
actually supports native gut bacteria and doesn't outcompete them.

441
00:21:17,590 --> 00:21:20,242
We have some concern that some of the mainstream

442
00:21:20,242 --> 00:21:24,786
probiotics that are really high in concentration, those bacteria

443
00:21:24,786 --> 00:21:26,668
may be helpful, but they may also come in

444
00:21:26,668 --> 00:21:28,866
and compete with what's living in the gut.

445
00:21:28,866 --> 00:21:30,934
That's why I like the east one, because I've

446
00:21:30,934 --> 00:21:33,920
done research to show that you can do that

447
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,318
while you're giving the Gut Restore capsules, and it'll

448
00:21:37,318 --> 00:21:39,710
actually help support the better outcome.

449
00:21:39,710 --> 00:21:42,596
Sometimes if they have chronic diarrhea, it's hard

450
00:21:42,596 --> 00:21:45,988
to get the good bacteria to colonize because

451
00:21:45,988 --> 00:21:48,370
the body is trying to discourage everything.

452
00:21:48,370 --> 00:21:50,516
We have also gut Maintenance Plus,

453
00:21:50,516 --> 00:21:53,258
which has bacteria phage cocktail.

454
00:21:53,258 --> 00:21:55,752
So bacteria phages are little viruses that kill

455
00:21:55,752 --> 00:21:57,780
bacteria so they won't hurt you at all.

456
00:21:58,550 --> 00:22:01,528
This one is designed to target some of the worst E.

457
00:22:01,528 --> 00:22:03,816
Coli strains that are coming from people.

458
00:22:03,816 --> 00:22:08,168
We do share some bacteria with our dogs and

459
00:22:08,168 --> 00:22:10,290
maybe to a lesser extent with our cats.

460
00:22:10,950 --> 00:22:12,988
And so we've found that E-coli

461
00:22:12,988 --> 00:22:14,812
can become a problem and

462
00:22:14,812 --> 00:22:16,466
actually impact cats and dogs.

463
00:22:16,466 --> 00:22:20,796
And this cocktail of viruses can help.

464
00:22:20,796 --> 00:22:22,160
Pre for pro is what's called

465
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,190
can help to knock them back.

466
00:22:24,190 --> 00:22:25,456
It doesn't always work.

467
00:22:25,456 --> 00:22:28,608
So we actually have some new ones coming that

468
00:22:28,608 --> 00:22:32,416
we've isolated that might be complimentary, but it's the

469
00:22:32,416 --> 00:22:34,778
only thing like it on the market for humans

470
00:22:34,778 --> 00:22:37,098
or pets is this pre for pro cocktail.

471
00:22:37,098 --> 00:22:40,148
So before a person would order your product, do

472
00:22:40,148 --> 00:22:43,490
you suggest that they do the testing first?

473
00:22:43,490 --> 00:22:47,208
Well, people don't always want to, so if you

474
00:22:47,208 --> 00:22:49,064
have a problem you need to solve, then maybe

475
00:22:49,064 --> 00:22:51,832
you get something that will help fix things now.

476
00:22:51,832 --> 00:22:54,664
But then we do recommend doing the testing, because

477
00:22:54,664 --> 00:22:56,808
if it works, then you're set, but if it

478
00:22:56,808 --> 00:22:58,312
doesn't work, then you don't really know why.

479
00:22:58,312 --> 00:23:00,268
And the test is really a way to get

480
00:23:00,268 --> 00:23:02,092
some insights of things that you might be able

481
00:23:02,092 --> 00:23:04,220
to do to help support better health.

482
00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:06,508
And the 15-minute consult that you get

483
00:23:06,508 --> 00:23:09,750
with that is with an experienced veterinary technician.

484
00:23:09,750 --> 00:23:13,654
And so that consult is really valuable. Excellent.

485
00:23:13,654 --> 00:23:16,822
All right, so we've been talking with Hollygans.

486
00:23:16,822 --> 00:23:19,344
She is the founder and the

487
00:23:19,344 --> 00:23:22,150
chief science officer of Animal Biome.

488
00:23:22,150 --> 00:23:24,538
They are doing wonderful things for cats

489
00:23:24,538 --> 00:23:27,274
and dogs and hopefully someday horses.

490
00:23:27,274 --> 00:23:29,970
So I can't wait to see your sign change

491
00:23:29,970 --> 00:23:32,850
where it also has a horse on it.

492
00:23:32,850 --> 00:23:36,820
So if you want more information, please

493
00:23:37,430 --> 00:23:41,496
go to animalbiome.com and check them out.

494
00:23:41,496 --> 00:23:43,608
There is so much good information on

495
00:23:43,608 --> 00:23:45,848
there, including tons of resources and the

496
00:23:45,848 --> 00:23:47,656
little quizzes that you can take.

497
00:23:47,656 --> 00:23:51,452
And of course, you can order the tests and have

498
00:23:51,452 --> 00:23:54,940
your own pet portal, and you get an ID number

499
00:23:54,940 --> 00:23:57,516
when you order the tests that you submit back.

500
00:23:57,516 --> 00:24:00,348
And I think there's lots of good information.

501
00:24:00,348 --> 00:24:02,720
There maybe things that we're not thinking about on

502
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,574
a day-to-day basis, but thank you, Holly.

503
00:24:05,574 --> 00:24:08,272
Any little last thing you want to throw out there?

504
00:24:08,272 --> 00:24:10,304
Oh, I just want to thank everybody for all that they

505
00:24:10,304 --> 00:24:13,082
do to take such good care of their cats and dogs.

506
00:24:13,082 --> 00:24:13,764
Me too.

507
00:24:13,764 --> 00:24:15,274
So that's wonderful.

508
00:24:15,274 --> 00:24:17,332
We want to thank everybody for joining us

509
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today on All My Children Wear Fur Coats.

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Special shout out to Holly Ganz and her team.

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You guys know my favorite motto:Until there are none,

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please adopt one. And protect your pet with a Pet Trust.

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And join us next time.

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Happy tales.

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Thank you for joining us on All My Children.

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Wear Fur Coats with your host, Peggy Hoyt.

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We hope you learned something valuable

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for the benefit of your pet.

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We want to keep loved pets in loving

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homes by educating pet parents about the importance

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of ensuring every pet has a forever home.

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Get more information about creating a legacy for

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your pet at ANIMALCARETRUSTUSA.ORG or LEGACYFORYOURPET.COM.

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Buy a copy of All My Children Wear Fur Coats

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how to Leave a Legacy for Your Pet on Amazon.

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Join our email list or make a donation.

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Pet professionals and advisors are invited

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to join our trusted advisor network.

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Until next time, happy tails.