Aaron Hirschhorn started Gallant Pet because he loves his dog. We all do, and he wanted to make life easier for his elderly dog who was suffering from arthritis. Since Aaron had relief from chronic back pain from regenerative stem cell therapy, he knew it would work for his dog too.
He had experience with a pet related called DogVacay, a peer to peer dog sitting website. The site was acquired by Rover, the “monster” of that industry. Gallant Pet is a whole different ball game though – there are far more “moving parts.” Stem cell therapy helps with a variety of injuries in pets from “dry eye” to arthritis to help heal injuries. In order to inject stem cells, you need to have them in the first place.
What Gallant Pet does is work with veterinarians. When a vet spays or neuters a dog, they retain the reproductive organs which contain stem cells. They ship them to Gallant’s lab and Gallant stores them in a cryofreezer in their lab. When your dog needs regenerative therapy in the future, you call the lab and they ship the cells to your vet for treatment.
Stem cell therapy is a proven method for dogs and humans. The methodology for treatment is essentially the same, the only difference is the species being treated. Veterinarian bills can get quite pricey for serious conditions on dogs and ongoing treatments. With stem cell therapy, depending on the injury, results can be much better and far less expensive. It’s a good business. Aaron probably wants a Shark to add to the $11 million in venture funds he’s already raised.
My Take on Gallant Pet
I LOVE my dog. I’ve loved every dog that’s been in my life. My current dog, Zoey (pictured above), is a three and a half year old American Bulldog. She’s seventy pounds of pure mayhem, but she’s very loyal, obedient and sweet. She’s still young and in very good health. We adopted her at two years old, so we missed out on harvesting stem cells for her. I pray we don’t need them.
My previous dog, Bailey, passed in June, 2017 – one month shy of her 16th birthday. She was a healthy dog until her final two years or so – that’s when the arthritis kicked in. She was a larger dog – about 80 pounds – and she had a tough time getting up and moving around at the end. If stem cell therapy would have helped her, I’d have gladly spent the money. Unfortunately, harvesting stem cells for dogs wasn’t a thing when she was born. Like Aaron, I know people will do anything for their dogs. That’s why I know his business will succeed. I am in.
Can Aaron “Cell” the Sharks?
It’s no coincidence that Gallant Pet is pitching when Anne Wojcicki is on the panel as a Guest Shark. The recent influx of Guest Sharks means you see businesses pitching to the guest’s niche. Tonight is no exception. While he’s already raised $11 million, he’s going to need more cash to make Gallant Pet a big business. There’s a lot of outreach and education to veterinarians and the dog loving public that needs to be done.
As for which Shark bids, Wojcicki is the obvious target. She’s in that online/medical/sample collection niche. 23AndMe collects and analyzes samples, so there’s some synergy there. As for the other Sharks, Daymond is a dog lover, but this is a little out of his wheel house. Lori probably won’t get on board, neither will Kevin, unless it’s a token “Kevin bid” to spice things up. Mark may get involved if the numbers are good and we could see him team up with Wojcicki. I predict a deal.
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
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