We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sean Zyer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My motivation for starting Earth Buddy was purely driven to help my dog, Keeva. Keeva was a 13yr old collie mix that was epileptic when we adopted her from a family member and we didn’t know how much time we had left with her. Living in Colorado, you are always one degree separated from the cannabis industry and I knew that there was some exciting research around epilepsy and cannabis. I reached out to some friends, who happened to be PhD’s and grew organic hemp on a farm in Longmont and we started formulating products specifically for Keeva. Within months we saw a complete change in Keeva’s health and were able to provide her with a great quality of life for another year and a half. I had always wanted to leave the corporate world and start a business, but never really had the means or idea of how to. Keeva was my inspiration and I wanted to share the experience we had with her with other pet parents. At this time in 2016, there were only a few pet CBD products in the market and most, if not all, were sourcing their hemp from overseas. In addition, the education and awareness about what made a good pet CBD product was the Wild West (and still is). We felt it was our duty to not only honor and tell Keeva’s story, but to educate pet parents on what to look for and what these products can help with. We did this by rigorously studying the current research available and being extremely transparent with our customers from day one. There was never a doubt in my mind that this would work and we could help a lot of pets. Helping pet parents understand the what, why and how to use CBD for pets was desperately needed in 2016 and still is! Our approach was and still is simple…be transparent, ensure safety, and always follow what is best for our pets. What still excites me and drive me today, is that I am able to speak with so many pet parents that we have helped of all ages. From providing comfort when it is time to say goodbye to our best friend to simple stress that pets experience, the feedback on our products drives me everyday and allows me to honor my own pets like Keeva.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2008 and like most college graduates I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue as a career. After 3 months of landscaping for a friends business, I realized I needed a “real” career so I started sending resumes for basically anything. I was always a pet lover and grew up with animals my entire life and coincidentally knew someone in the pet industry. I started working for a major pet food company in 2009 and I have since worked in the pet industry in multiple facets. I was able to see how brands went to market and worked with many great mentors within the pet industry. When we started Earth Buddy I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but because I had so many connections and strong relationships it gave me the confidence to push forward. Another driving factor was the lack of understanding and obscurity that our competitors were portraying with CBD for pets. I knew in my heart, with the help of our team of scientists, we could innovate and revolutionize pet health. We did this by creating products that solved common issues most pet parents experience. Often times when pets are older and we have exhausted all traditional medicine options and our bank accounts, we start looking for natural alternatives. Our driving factor in formulating products was always to help older dogs and cats in this situation. Every product we have created started as something we were giving to our own pets and provided some comfort without harming them. For example, my first dog Tito, passed from cancer in 2021 and towards the end after battling cancer with traditional medicine and natural alternatives we have much hope left. At that point, we were just trying to provide some quality of life for Tito and we started making a unique form of liposomal glutathione for him. Glutathione is known as the “master antioxidant” and vital to our pet’s health. This kept his appetite and personality up for the remainder of his life and allowed me to say goodbye to him a little bit longer. We are not a marketing company or following popular fads, we simply want to help pets live their best lives. We do this by keeping our own pets, like Tito and Keeva, in mind!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When our pets are ill, it is easy to throw the “kitchen sink” at the problems, but I would caution pet parents to take a step back and assess everything about their pet’s health. Look at their diet first and foremost, but also build a team of veterinary professionals and pet health experts to support you through the process. When my first dog, Tito, was diagnosed with cancer I panicked and felt like I had to everything to fight it. This was positive in some ways, but ultimately what I realized was focusing on his diet, running tests with my vets, and introducing supplements one at a time was the best plan for him. This allowed me to see what was actually helping him and we fought cancer for another year and a half due to this philosophy. I cherish the last year I had with Tito, even though it was emotionally draining, I still was able to say goodbye to him for a bit longer. Whether it is another few days, weeks, or months I would do anything to have a little more time with him. Giving our pets dignity towards the end of their life is what still drives me today.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Our strategy is very simple for growing our clientele. Make pet products that we would use ourselves, be transparent, and build strong relationships with other small, local pet retailers. Earth Buddy is a small business and we grew our company by having integrity with local Colorado pet stores and pet owners. We will always support shopping local and support small business, because that is what we are. We are also crazy pet lovers who make products for other crazy pet lovers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.earthbuddypet.com
• Instagram: @earthbuddypet
• Facebook: @earthbuddypet
• Linkedin: @earthbuddypet
• Youtube: @earthbuddypet
• Other: Pinterest: @earthbuddypet

Image Credits
Earth Buddy owns all images