As far as veterinary telehealth goes, this one is for the birds.
WhiskerDocs, which provides medical advice to dog and cat owners by phone, text, email and video, reported that it will expand into avian telehealth sometime this summer. The new service was “driven by customer feedback,” the company stated, citing statistics showing that 7% of dog owners and 6% of cat owners also have a pet bird.
WhiskerDocs reported that the avian telehealth program will be the first of its kind in the United States.
“With an estimated 2.8 million birds in U.S. homes, and limited access to care resources, we saw this as a highly underserved market,” chief operating officer Nicole Rogers said. “We recognize that even a significant portion of our existing member base may be finding themselves forced to use Dr. Google for questions about their feathered family members.”
Veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians working for WhiskerDocs answer pet owner questions 24 hours a day for fees ranging from $4.99 to $39.99.
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