Wag! Adds Wellness Options for Pet Parents Improving One-Stop-Shop Capabilities for Premium Pet Care

-- Brand Builds on Momentum Gained as Pet Parents Manage Their Post-Pandemic Needs --

News provided by

Dec 20, 2021, 09:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wag!, the #1 app for Pet Parents offering 5-star dog walking, pet sitting, expert pet advice, and training services from local Pet Caregivers nationwide, today launched a suite of wellness offerings including Wag! Wellness Plans and Vet Chat, solidifying it as the one-stop-shop for premium pet care. Wag! Wellness Plans provide monthly options to cover pet wellness needs, including shots, diagnostics and other treatments. Vet Chat provides 24/7 access to certified veterinary professionals for on-demand pet health advice.

"One-in-five households adopted a dog during the pandemic, resulting in thousands of new pet parents who are learning how to manage the many pet responsibilities that come with ownership," said Garrett Smallwood, CEO of Wag! "Wag! has seen steady website growth to five million monthly users seeking breed-and-age specific pet wellness information as well as local pet-related city information. This insight inspired Wag! to become the one-stop shop for pet parents to access all the health and wellness services they need on-demand and on-the-go, in order to keep their lives running smoothly and remove some of the stress that comes with pet parenting."

Wag! Wellness Plans
Wag! Wellness Plans act as a financial planning tool for pet parents. With health and wellness expenses for dogs running between $700-$1500* annually, the Wag! Wellness Plans provide affordable, flexible, convenient ways to budget for routine vet bills, manage vet costs, and get quickly reimbursed for routine pet care such as shots, diagnostics and other treatments. These plans also provide a quick run down of the annual essential items that pet parents may need, and help flatten these payments, as opposed to creating large, one-off costs.

With Wag! Wellness Plans (Gold; $14.95/month; Platinum $29.95/month; Diamond; $59.95/month), the pet parent chooses a plan with a monthly fee based on the level of routine care required; optional add-ons provide additional benefits at an extra cost. After a visit to the vet of choice for routine pet care, the pet parent submits bills or receipts via the online Wag! Wellness reimbursement form. The pet parent will be reimbursed for eligible routine pet care expenses via PayPal within 24 business hours. The three different plans can be seen in their entirety here.

Vet Chat
Pet parents have found answers to more than 5 million questions a month on Wag!'s robust pet health content library. Wag! Virtual Vet Chat makes pet parenthood even more convenient and provides flexibility and peace of mind by offering on-demand one-on-one conversation with pre-screened licensed veterinarians or veterinary technicians to discuss questions related to the pet's health, 24/7. These experts help the pet parent save time and money by helping the pet parent decide the severity of the health concern and recommend an in-person veterinary visit, if necessary.

Users access the service by tapping "Vet Chat" in the services section of the home screen where they choose to pay $30 for a one-time service, or get Wag! Premium for free access to the services any time. There, they start a chat and submit questions or concerns. A veterinarian or veterinary technician will accept the service request and respond to the questions directly in the app where the expert will be available for conversation for the next 24 hours. Photos and videos of the user's pet can also be shared. The cost is $30 per 24-hour session and free with Wag! Premium ($9.99/month or $95.99/year).

Pets have increasingly become a crucial part of the American family with Americans spending $110B on pet industry expenditures in 2021. For the past six years, Wag! has been connecting busy pet parents with pet care providers for dog walking, sitting, boarding and training in more than 4600 cities, and with the addition of these products, Wag! offers the greatest multitude of service options to support pet parents.

"The introduction of Wag! Wellness Plans and Vet Chat brings our suite of service options to the next level, giving pet families the veterinary support they need on financially reasonable terms, especially the youngest generation of pet owners who are digitally savvy, live fast-paced lives and want to remove some of the stress that comes with owning a pet," said Smallwood.

About Wag!:
Wag! is the #1 app for Pet Parents -- offering options for 5-star dog walking, pet sitting, expert pet advice, and training from local Pet Caregivers nationwide. Wag!'s community of 350,000 Pet Caregivers are pet people, and it shows. Making Pet Parents happy is what Wag! does best. With safety and happiness at the forefront, Pet Caregivers with Wag! have a trusted record of experience with nearly 12 million pet care services across all 50 states, resulting in more than 95% of their reviews earning 5 stars.

*According to the American Kennel Club.

SOURCE Wag!