Are There Benefits to a 24/7 Vet Care App?

by Christy Caplan | April 21, 2021

Shermie has early renal disease. This is heartbreaking, but he is almost 15-years-old.

We recently needed to switch his diet from kibble to a fresh food diet. Honestly, Sherm has a sensitive stomach, and I’ve been feeding a GI hi-fiber diet for years which really helps him maintain solid stool. That said, I really should have put him on a fresh food diet years ago, but that’s another blog post.

I was concerned this diet transition would not go smoothly, and I was right! Instead of reaching out to my vet, who I was planning to contact first thing in the morning, I decided to try AskVet’s service, and by the way… this was all at 10 p.m.

If you haven’t heard of AskVet before, check out the testimonials on the home page.

(FYI: There are many 24/7 types of vet service apps available to pet parents. I knew about AskVet, and I felt comfortable with the price to sign up. Here’s how it all went down).

About AskVet

photo credit: Christine Caplan, this is a pic of their welcome kit literature, which I received a week later. 

I have an Android. Here are the steps I went through.

1. I downloaded the app from the play store.
2. The fee is $29/month, so I provided my debit.
3. This app is text-based, so I quickly had my question ready and typed it into an email. This is before I launched the app. My question was related to Sherm’s diet transition, which I’ll expand on in this list.
4. I only waited a few minutes for a vet to pop into the chat. They managed my expectation by explaining that the minimum wait time maybe five minutes.

The vet was awesome.

My question: 

______

Our dialogue went back and forth for another minute or two, and it was short and efficient. I received a chat summary via email after we were done.

Overall, we decided that metronidazole made sense, and since my vet was already engaged, I could likely get a script without Sherm needing an appointment. This is how it all played out, and I appreciated her help, especially at 10 p.m.

The Welcome Kit

I love the Welcome Kit AskVet sent me after the first consult. The components are in the feature pic, and the products are tailored to Sherman. Here’s what they sent:

• Adorable tote bag
• Urine sample test kit with test strips
• Dog treats which I gave to Walter
• DoggyStat for diarrhea

Let’s talk about DoggyStat

This is a natural supplement to help your dog with possible GI issues, including diarrhea. With this in mind, this is not medication, and if your dog is having an issue, you need to take him to the vet for an exam and lab work. If your dog has loose stool and you want to try DoggyStat, then I don’t think it can hurt but be prepared that you may need to give him medication prescribed by your regular vet. Always talk to your vet before giving your pets any type of medication.

What’s up with the urine test?

Is this only for nerds like me? Do I have to test my pet’s urine? Urine tests are essential for pet parents. The urine collection kit helps you get a urine sample. The test strips are similar to the test strips you use if you have a fish tank! There are 50 strips included and ten parameters you look for, including protein, pH, and glucose. The test provides information the vet may use to help diagnose a health condition. I asked AskVet about the urine collection kit and here’s what I learned.

• Each new AskVet member is sent a urinalysis specific to the pet in their welcome kit. 
• Shortly after you receive your welcome kit, you will receive a message from your Care Coach who offers to review the results with you. 
• The AskVet Care Coach will ask you to take a picture of the urinalysis strip to share with them, then they will discuss the results with you.
• If there’s an issue, they notify an AskVet veterinarian who is looped into the conversation.

Photo credit: AskVet welcome kit from the company

Do I Recommend a 24/7 Vet App?

Yes! It’s an absolute no-brainer. As a CVT, I know too much, and my vet consults can be short as a result! My recommendation is to keep your question or health issue concise for the vet. Your vet can advise you on managing a situation and will help you decide what your next steps may be – and be prepared that this may mean you need to take your pet to the vet that day or the next morning.

Let me know if you’ve tried a similar service and what you thought!