18-02-2025
Upstate couple introduces new technology to track pet health
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – New technology helping people keep track of the health of their pets is available to people across the Upstate and beyond.
Tom Ostrowski and Maria Richter are the founders of Tech Pet IQ. It's a software that allows pet owners to monitor their dogs and cats' eating and drinking habits. The system has received support from multiple organizations including The Platform at Greer and American Venture Technology Lab.
'You can be anywhere in the world, and you can see when your pet's been fed, when it got fresh water, when it ate, how much it ate, and you can kind of keep track of all this and keep historical data,' Ostrowski said.
The software includes sensors which attach to the pets' food and water bowls and gauge how much food and water the pet is consuming. Pet owners can track all that data in real time using the Tech Pet IQ app, and receive alerts when their pets are low on food and water.
'Sometimes we've also found that when we're busy, we're both working, in and out all the time, and we're like, did anybody feed the dogs today? And then we pull up the app, like, okay we did,' said Richter.
Tech Pet IQ's founders and local veterinarians said the technological advancement can help identify behavior changes and medical issues.
'The owners are becoming absolutely 100% involved in their pet's health care. They're the first to be able to look at it, and sometimes even tell me, 'hey, I think we need to increase the insulin,'' said Vet Chat Mobile Veterinarian Dr. Christy Belcher. 'For specific diseases, like diabetes, hyperthyroidism, adrenal disease, many of the first symptoms are increased thirst, or hunger, and then those treatments after we diagnose it are based on blood work.'
The founders of Tech Pet IQ said they'd spent the last year perfecting the software. They told 7NEWS work is underway to get the products into animal hospitals and boarding facilities.
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