You can get a ride in minutes from Uber. You can get a gourmet meal dropped at your front door from Munchery. So why not an app that quickly puts you and your pet face-to-face with a real live vet?
A new 24-hour virtual veterinarian service has come to the San Francisco Bay Area. Available from your mobile device, Vet24seven promises to provide you live video and chat with your pet s caregiver without actually having to stress out your Fido or Tigger by schlepping their furry highnesses all the way to the vet or animal hospital.
Less stress for dog and cat equals less stress for you. Or so says Dr. Ed Blach, a veterinarian and co-founder of Vet24seven:
The Vet24seven mobile app is ideal for that situation that every pet owner faces—when we see a behavior or symptom that is concerning, but due to today s busy lifestyles, we can t get into the veterinarian s office right away. Vet24seven gives the pet owner a chance to consult with their veterinarian, or an available veterinarian in the Vet24seven network if they don t have one, to help them decide what to do. It provides peace of mind for the animal owner when they need it the most.
According to its website, the service provides real-time and immediate assistance for owners, including those time-challenged, pet-obsessing techies who have recently taken over large swaths of the Bay Area. The service claims to have done its homework before launching:
Whether your pet gets stressed going to the veterinarian, you need to follow-up on a treatment, or even have questions about a new symptom or behavior – the Vet24seven mobile app makes it easy for you and your pet to consult with your veterinarian. As part of their due diligence, Vet24seven surveyed nearly a thousand pet owners in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo and learned that there is a high demand for virtual veterinary consultations in the Bay area. Top reasons that pet owners cited are that busy lifestyles can prevent office visits in a timely manner, pets often get stressed out by doctor visits, and it can be difficult to transport some pets to an office visit.
And the service says it can accommodate not only cats and dogs, but also larger pets like horses and even cows.
How much is that doggie-app in the window, you ask?
The average cost of a 10-minute consultation is expected to range between $40 and $60. The specific consultation fee is set by the selected veterinarian and is expected to be significantly lower and more convenient than the average in-office visit.
While Vet24seven may be the latest pet-app out of the gate, it certainly has company out there. Check out SnapVet here. And read about Vet on Demand, which claims to be the first of its kind, here.
For a longer take on Vet24seven and the people behind it, go read my colleague Kristi Myllenbeck s story in Mercury News.
Credit: Vet24seven
