After humans, Bryan Johnson now wants dogs to live forever because they're ‘amazing’

Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who has spent years and millions of dollars trying to slow ageing, now wants to do the same for dogs, simply because “dogs are amazing”.

The biohacker, known for his catchphrase “Don't die”, developed a sudden interest in canine longevity after he recently adopted a professionally trained Belgian Malinois named Katara.

In an interview with venture capitalist Sarah Guo, Johnson said that he was receiving death threats, and so, Katara is his guard dog who protects him from attackers.

“I get quite a few death threats, and so she is my guard dog,” Johnson said as the Belgian Malinois lay patiently at his feet. “We go everywhere together, and we have bonded for the past month.”

Katara, who will turn two in October, was a highlight at the longevity event in San Francisco earlier this week.

Will there be another company for canine health?

Bryan Johnson told Business Insider that he has no plans to launch a company focused on canine health yet.

Instead, he clarified that his dog, Katara, would undergo a version of the rigorous data collection and longevity interventions he chronicles for his followers.

“She's going to become the most measured dog in the world,” he said in an interview. “We're going to do a whole bunch of longevity therapies on her because dogs are amazing.”

What does Johnson propose to improve dog health?

According to Bryan Johnson, improving a dog's health could be relatively simple if owners focus on diet. He noted that most commercial dog foods contain much higher concentrations of harmful compounds.

“These are things that glue your organs together,” he told Business Insider. “We're feeding them things that are terrible for their bodies.”

The biohacker said that advances in dog health can also help humans,

Because dogs and humans share so many similarities, according to Johnson, advances in canine health could ultimately lead to medical breakthroughs for people.

“It's remarkable how much dogs and humans have in common,” he said. “When you read through the literature on dogs, and you just replace humans with dogs, there are so many similarities.”

‘Drug approval substantially faster for dogs’

Bryan Johnson has frequently expressed frustration over the lengthy regulatory process for human medical treatments—a hurdle that is significantly lower in veterinary medicine.

"The path for drug approval is substantially faster for dogs than humans, so you can get a lot of scientific work done in a shorter period of time," he told Business Insider.

The canine longevity space is already gaining traction. Startups like Loyal are working on what could be the first FDA-approved lifespan-extension drugs for dogs.

Meanwhile, Rejuvenate Bio is exploring an experimental gene-therapy route to combat age-related animal diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoarthritis.

‘Humans care for their dogs better…’

A vocal advocate for strict human health regimens, like prioritising sleep and cutting out alcohol, Bryan Johnson believes that getting dog owners on board with advanced canine care will be effortless.

Johnson noted that people are usually much more willing to invest in their pets' well-being than their own.

"Humans will oftentimes care for their dogs better than they'll care for themselves," he said.

About the Author

Arshdeep Kaur is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she reports and edits across national and international politics, business and culture‑adjacent trending stories for digital audience. With five years in the newsroom, she strives to balance the speed and rigor of fast‑moving news cycles and longer, context‑rich explainers. <br><br> Before joining LiveMint, Arshdeep served as a Senior Sub‑Editor at Business Standard and earlier as a Sub‑Editor at Asian News International (ANI). Her experience spans live news flows, enterprise features, and multi‑platform packaging. <br><br> At Mint, she regularly writes explainers, quick takes, and visuals‑led stories that are optimized for search and social, while maintaining the publication’s standards for accuracy and clarity. She collaborates closely with editors and the audience team to frame angles that resonate with readers in India and abroad, and to translate complex developments into accessible, high‑impact journalism. <br><br> Arshdeep's academic training underpins her interest towards policy and markets. She earned an MA in Economics from Panjab University and holds a Post‑Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the India Today Media Institute (ITMI). This blend of economics and broadcast storytelling informs her coverage of public policy, elections, macro themes, and the consumer‑internet zeitgeist. <br><br> Arshdeep is based in New Delhi, where she tracks breaking developments and longer‑horizon storylines that shape public discourse.

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