Therapy for Neurotic Pet Owners? Startup Aims to Erase the $16B Vet Care Burden

Consider this:
>> Veterinary bills account for 25% of the pet industry. Veterinarians have to charge thousands of dollars for procedures that could have been prevented, while "diagnostic" websites offer one-size-fits-all advice that raises more questions than answers. Service providers neglect the most important party to the transaction—the pet owner.

According to Silicon Valley startup Ask.Vet [https://ask.vet/], all pet owners really want is validation—someone to listen to them, call their pet by name, and guide their decisions. Ask.Vet (NOT ask.vet.com) shifts the focus back to the human—facilitating live text conversations with licensed veterinarians for personalized advice.

Here’s how Ask.Vet aims to take a chunk out of the $16B vet care burden:

>> IT USES TECHNOLOGY TO GET ULTRA PERSONAL

Ask.Vet doesn't remove human interaction from vet care—on the contrary, its focus is human-to-human (vs. human-to-pet) interaction. And users aren’t limited to a single text—they can converse with a veterinarian until all their questions are answered.

>> IT GIVES YOU THE ATTENTION THAT VETERINARIANS CAN'T

Ask.Vet knows we’re all a little neurotic and could talk about our pets for hours on end. For a token monthly fee, pet owners can ask as many questions they want about their pets—no matter how trivial the query.

>> IT HELPS HUMANS CARE FOR THEIR PETS ALL YEAR ROUND—NOT JUST IN AN EMERGENCY

Most pet owners ignore their pet's wellness until a crisis hits. Ask.Vet prioritizes constant attention to overall health. Each Ask.Vet query—no matter how trivial—gets answered within minutes, meaning a text could prevent bigger issues and hefty vet bills.

To try out the service, text VET to 67076. You’ll be texting with a licensed veterinarian for customized advice within minutes (no credit card needed), and the first session is free.