Dog Loving Entrepreneurs Create The Ultimate Must Have App For Pet Parents! Two local female entrepreneurs have launched a revolutionary new pet management system that takes pet well-being to a whole new level, while also paying it forward.
If your pet is your best friend you probably want to do everything you can to ensure that they are safe, healthy and happy. From staying on top of their vaccinations and having their medical history on hand to keeping abreast of food and health trends, being able to shop online and have a video consultation with a vet, we know you want to manage your furry family’s wellbeing as well as you manage your human family. These reasons and more are why two South African entrepreneurs, Kyne Lupini and Shannon Sweetman, launched TAME, a revolutionary pet management system, easily accessed via a lifestyle-focused app.
While lockdown may have been a challenging time to start a new business, it was exactly because of lockdown that the idea originated. Both small business owners in the pet industry (Kyne runs Wolf & Women, an online store specialising in high quality, natural treats and grooming products and Shannon is a pet photographer, author and owner of Dog Meets Girl, a pet focused ad agency that also offers a subscription box service that is in its second successful year of business.) They noticed a huge growth in the industry as people were stuck at home with their pets and were spending more money on them. They identified the need for a system that would store and cover everything you need as a pet owner. As the brainstorming sessions took place, so TAME’s list of features grew and now, while you may find many a variety of pet focused apps, there are none that offer as comprehensive a basket as TAME.
Beautifully designed (with all photographs taken by Shannon, of course), the app has a very different feel to any other app and is rich in offerings:
My Pet:
Here you are able to capture everything about your pet, from their name and birthday to their microchip and insurance numbers. You can request pet insurance quotes, add your vet and grooming parlour details and update all medical records, including medication and vaccination dates. The best part about all of this – besides eliminating the need for paperwork and filing and having everything on hand in one place – is that you can share your pet profile at any time.
Services
The list of vetted services – whether you are home or away on holiday with your animals, thanks to geotagging – includes vets, groomers, daycare services, pet sitters, dog walkers and behaviourists. With full contact details provided, you can even message the listed provider directly if they are online. Plus owners can get quotes for inbound and outbound travel for animal travel by simply inputting a few details.
Shop
Kyne and Shannon are passionate about supporting local and bringing the entrepreneur to the pet owner. “The amount of quality artisanal brands we have in South Africa is positively astounding and the world needs to see more of them,” says Shannon. You can shop for all your pets’ needs via TAME’S selected shopping partners, including Absolute Pets (for pet care and food products) and Raw Food (retailers/suppliers of raw food) and a bunch of cool local brands, with more being added every day. In addition to the above services which are all free, users have the option of upgrading to premium (R59.99 per month), which opens up another whole offering:
Adventure
Here you can search pet friendly restaurants, accommodation and events according to your location.
Advice
A really useful option is the ability to seek advice across categories including medical, grooming, nutrition and training, or talk to a pet professional during working hours. Drawing on experts in the industry, interesting topics are covered each month with the option of videos and downloadable e-books making this an exceptional library of information.
Find Me a Pet
Premium users can also find their new pet here – whether you’re looking for a dog, cat, horse, bunny or parrot. Simply type in what pet and breed you are looking for and it will give you information about the breed and connect you to breed-specific shelters. “Find Me A Pet is our passion project and our way of giving back. We have tried to make the process as easy as possible with our online match assessment which will give the rescue organisation great insight when placing a pet,” says Kyne.
Talk
Inspired again by the challenges faced with consultations during lockdown, the Talk functionality allows the user to contact a vet or behaviourist with their concern, share their TAME pet profile and have a ‘live’ appointment via a video call. Alternatively you can share photos for the consultation. The consultation is included in the premium package so there is no extra fee.
TAME PET APP is available on Android and IOS.
Follow the conversation online:
Instagram: @tameapp
Facebook: @tamepetapp
