Pet healthcare costs have risen by 60% since 2014, causing many pet parents to skip necessary care and medical treatments for their furry family members. While financial costs are a valid concern for many households, forgoing basic care often means that hidden illnesses can become much worse, leading to medical emergencies for pets.
This is the type of situation that Tim Maliyil, founder and CEO of PerkyPet, along with his co-founder Dr. Dara Huang, a personalized medicine physician, want to help pet parents avoid. Through the development of PerkyPet’s AI health tracker, the company is helping pet parents become more proactive in monitoring their pets’ health so they can address illnesses and disease before a crisis strikes.
How PerkyPet’s Health Tracker Works
“PerkyPet’s health tracker is designed to be personalized to your pet and its specific needs,” Maliyil explains. “We draw from veterinary science, but at the same time, the app needs to be matched to your pet’s individual health. That’s why we start with a personalized pet assessment that covers the essentials like their age, size, vaccination history and other information that plays a role in their veterinary needs. Our AI-enabled technology also assesses your pet’s baseline behavioral, physical and vocal cues to understand their normal behavior.”
With this information in hand, the PerkyPet AI sets up a personalized health tracking dashboard for pet parents. This dashboard is designed to cover all the basics of pet care, including tracking medication refills and vaccination needs and sending reminders about upcoming veterinary appointments.
The app also has an AI-powered veterinary nutritionist feature, which uses the pet assessment to recommend the best pet food options for maintaining health. Given the recent rise in pet obesity, this is more important than many pet parents may realize.
“The right food for each pet can vary depending on their life stage and other specific health needs, and a balanced, tailored diet can play a powerful role in reducing the risk of illness and disease,” Maliyil says.
“But with so many different choices, it can feel overwhelming for pet parents to find the best option. Our specialists use validated nutritional data and your pet’s specific information to provide tailored recommendations — which can also change over time as your pet ages or experiences different health conditions.”
While these tools can play a valuable role in helping pet parents maintain their furry family members’ well-being, the health tracker is meant to go well beyond initial recommendations. With ongoing tracking and monitoring, it can become a powerful resource for maintaining pet health, even in the face of illness.
AI-Enabled Monitoring for More Proactive Healthcare
While helping pet parents make choices that promote pet health is a priority for Maliyil, he is especially proud of PerkyPet’s early detection and monitoring capabilities. “PerkyPet’s AI-enabled behavior translator allows us to monitor your pet’s physical, behavioral and even vocal cues against their established baseline,” he explains.
“This allows the AI to detect even subtle changes in behavior that pet parents might not recognize right away. This is especially true when behavioral changes occur gradually. Often, those who are closest to the pet might not realize that something abnormal is happening, because it gradually becomes the new normal.”
With PerkyPet, this doesn’t have to be the case. The behavioral monitoring system, paired with the app’s diagnostics tools, sends alerts to pet parents when abnormal health cues have been identified. Drawing from its deep veterinary knowledge, the technology can identify potential health issues that could be contributing to abnormal behavior. With this knowledge and support, pet parents can schedule a visit with their vet right away — before the issue worsens with potentially serious complications.
Most importantly, this feedback and guidance is offered in real-time. Pet parents don’t need to wait for answers. They can get an immediate response so they know what needs to be done based on their pet’s symptoms, particularly when professional veterinary support is needed. Just like with human health, early intervention can improve the effectiveness of treatments, stop the progression of disease and reduce pain and discomfort. Early intervention can also reduce the cost of treatment by preventing the need for more invasive care.
PerkyPet also helps pet parents stay ahead of hidden illnesses by coordinating care with their veterinarian. “PerkyPet can communicate with your veterinarian to provide your pet’s comprehensive electronic health record before your visit,” he says.
“This includes highlighting the symptoms and behaviors that your pet is showing, and identifying potential root causes that could be contributing to the issue. This allows your veterinarian to save time and provide accurate care so your pet can get the right level of treatment.”
Healthier Pets, Happier Families
With personalized insights and health guidance, as well as ongoing monitoring of pet behavior and health status, the PerkyPet AI offers a dynamic and innovative solution for pet care. AI systems that have been validated by veterinary experts ensure that pet parents get reliable recommendations and insights, both for maintaining their pets’ general health and for situations when they may need to act swiftly to address an illness.
Ultimately, by making use of the AI-powered and science-driven features of PerkyPet, pet parents can ensure their pets live longer, happier and healthier lives.
