Dog Lovers In Boulder Design Canine Smart Collar
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado is crowded with devoted pet owners. It is also a haven for healthy people. Now, two friends in Boulder have come up with a canine smart collar to keep your best friend around for as long as possible.
They are sinking their teeth into the exploding pet industry, and they're doing it for their dogs.
In a sunny backyard, a rambunctious black Labrador mix named Dylan happily lapped up all the attention from his owner, Susan Sierota. Sierota's last lab, Mulligan, died of cancer detected too late.
"I felt horrible. I let him down," Sierota said.
Carrie Dolan also lost a pup. Her Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Bear, was just 6-years-old when he died.
Now, the two friends have made pet health their passion.
"It's all about keeping them around as long as possible, as happy and healthy as possible," Sierota told CBS4 Heath Specialist Kathy Walsh.
The women are doing it with Waggit.
"Waggit is a health and safety monitor for dogs," said Sierota.
There's an app for it. The high-tech collar attachment tracks a dog's location and its vitals like activity, heart rate, respiration, even sleeping patterns.
"And you can dig into any of the sections and look at the trends over time," explained Sierota, co-founder and CEO of Waggit.
You'll get alerts if there are changes and you can share a report with your veterinarian.
"It provides key indicators of health conditions or pain to alert you early, in time to make a difference," said Sierota.
The first Waggit production of 1,500 is nearly sold out.
"We have playful parents, passionate parents and practical parents," said Dolan, co-founder and CMO of Waggit.
All are customers willing to spend $199 for the monitor and $9.95 a month for the cloud-based service. Right now, it's just for dogs 20 pounds and over, but Waggit for petite pups and cats is coming.
"Waggit is the leader of the pack," said Sierota with a laugh.
It is keeping dogs, like Dylan, on a tight "high tech" leash and giving the new breed of devoted pet parents a little peace of mind.
LINK: Waggit
