When you’re looking for reliable information about human medical conditions, you can always turn to health portals like WebMD, RightHealth, OrganizedWisdom or iMedix. But what if your cat has stopped eating or your dog has started losing its hair? You’d probably resort to Googling the symptoms in hope that you could save yourself a trip to the vet.
WebVet is a content site launching today that aims to provide a comprehensive collection of articles regarding pet health so you don’t have to scratch around the net for this information. It begins by focusing on dogs, cats, bird and other small animals, but founders Hope Schultz and Bill Zaccheo plan to expand coverage to include exotics, fish and farm animals.
The two main components of the site are medical abstracts and featured articles. The medical extracts cover topics like Cushing’s disease, Lyme disease, rabies and tickets. They include the common symptoms of each condition and, while written by former editors of consumer pet manuals, show the names of the last veterinarians to review them for accuracy.
The featured articles are intended to draw visitors back to the site even when their pets aren’t sniffling or exhibiting other worrisome behavior. They cover not only health issues but also topics like gifts, fashion, holistic care, counseling, hotels, and travel tips for pets. Most of the articles will be written exclusively for WebVet by a team of 25 freelance writers.
Competitors include sites like Petside, Petplace, and PetEducation. We first covered WebVet in May when the company discussed its business plan at a Women 2.0 pitch event.
My furball is going to be very grateful for this one.
I think this is a great idea – I think it’s actually a bit more challenging to diagnose animals’ health issues so something like this will make it a lot easier.
yeah, beyond saying “he’s coughing …or vomiting” you can’t really self diagnose a pet. Many times they go untreated because the owners can’t even tell there’s something wrong.
What’s interesting is how the health industry economy is changing, to comply with the Web 2.0 we’ve all have gotten used to. For human health, it started a while back but sites like this help bring our unheard friends up to date.
There is also http://www.petmd.com. They are in beta though.
looks like PetMD has articles and lots of medical content. Webvet looks like just another assortment of links to other places.
All of the information provided on webvet is included within the site and is origional content.
awesome, I didn’t even know of the competitors, and I google stuff and usually get Yahoo answers, which are no answers at all [for serious things.]
Cushing’s disease is evil and often misdiagnosed. Just thought I’d throw that out there
Great idea. Is there anything out there like this? Considering how important pets are to some people, this is bound to be successful, if it functions similar to web MD. Great business concept. I remember when somebody launched a pet social network… that didn’t prove successful.. http://www.read...ex.php?RTA=web2
Dogster took off however
Unfortunately, after J Calacanis’ episode today, I tried searching for snake bite or brown spider on WebVet, which doesn’t have any results whereas PetMD did.
I think something these sites need to consider is adding in a “Search by google” if their own searches don’t turn up anything.
WOW! Very interesting concept. Glad someone brought this idea to market.
“About 63% of U.S. households, or 71 million homes, now own at least one pet, up from 64 million just five years ago.”
“Most of the pet business world’s attention is directed at the country’s 88 million cats and 75 million dogs.”
Both quotes are from a Business Week story from last Summer.
“The Pet Economy
Americans spend an astonishing $41 billion a year on their furry friends”
http://www.busi...001.htm?chan=gl
Lots of opportunity in the pet health market.
Nice idea, but my dog can’t read, much less use the internet.
I like Petwave – similar site in beta.
http://www.petwave.com/
Fantastic idea! One of those ideas you wish you had and they look to have hit it out of the park (I will definitely use it)!
Not sure about the petmd.com link above, can’t find any info on the site with their accreditation (doesn’t look to be associated with vets beyond the ‘MD’ part).
I looked into petwave.com too and cannot find any disclosure on their information/accreditation. That’s an instant show-stopper for me.
I think that webvet simply has information that I can trust over the others so far. I want all the information pertaining to my pet to be consistently reviewed by accredited veterinarians. The others simply don’t have the backing of the AHHA.
WebVet: Thrive or Fail? [VOTE] http://www.thri...rfail.com/41437 (linkback)
Good idea, but already infested with the animal woo like acupuncture, etc, which is too bad. Something a bit more evidence based would be nice.
Hey LW, I checked out http://www.petwave.com. It looks pretty great. Lot’s of content, easy to use, overall a great resource. Thanks for posting. That’s a good find.
What a great way of promoting of your own site, Nickolas Anthony Solaro! Anyway, congratulations. I wish I was able to think of a good website to collect loads of advertising revenue.
WebVet’s pretty, but check out http://www.petwave.com. I have been accepted into their private beta for their next version, which includes web 2.0 functionality, pet health management tools, and much more. Should be public next week, so I would encourage everyone to check it out.
http://Petdoc.com is the one I like.
Thanks for the links to the other sites though. Have to check them out.
Seconded for http://petdoc.com/. Also new, and in beta.
These guys were finalists in the Women 2.0 business plan competition. I asked them a few questions as an audience member and thought their answers were okay. They are more of an aggregate of information from external sources. Not clear to me how they will make money.
Actually, looks like about 90% of all content is original – see bylines on each page. Looks like partners just support the content and the company as credible.
WebVet, Petwave, PetMD, & PetDoc all seem like decently organized indexes of information, but none have the interactive, WebMD-like interface that helps you narrow down your search. Petside.com does have this feature, and I’ve found it very useful.
http://www.petside.com/pet-vet
J-Dog, did you look at Petwave.com?
Finally a site with some real veterinary backing! I’ve been getting fed-up with all this one-guy-and-his-dog advice
Wall Street Journal has spoken:
“A new online platform that redefines how pet owners approach pet care launches today with WebVet (www.webvet.com), the first whole-pet resource that brings together, in one trusted place, veterinarian-approved pet health and wellness information, as well as lifestyle trends and pet-centric news from leading animal health experts and award-winning reporters.”
Say goodnight petwave, petmd, petside, petdoc, pet-etc…
http://www.mark...tory.aspx?guid={72CEECAA-10D7-48E4-AAB5-A998B3028292}&dist=hppr
Couldn’t get that link to work for me. But I did a search of WSJ’s website and couldn’t find a thing on Webvet.
A lot of sites automatically pick up wire feeds like market watch, doesn’t necessarily mean that WSJ has reported on the topic, rather it is subscribed to that particular RSS feed.
google marketwatch+webvet
Whoops, got truncated! Saw this on the WSJ’s market wire this morning:
http://www.mark...tory.aspx?guid={72CEECAA-10D7-48E4-AAB5-A998B3028292}&dist=hppr
That’s just a company news release, not a WSJ article.
FAIL
No worries, JohnC. Karole’s suggestion to Google marketwatch+webvet worked fine. I think it was just a wire release, however. The WSJ hasn’t written an article on them.
…but they thought it newsworthy enough to pick up. And they could have not run the whole release if they didn’t feel it worthy.
I just saw their breed pages – very cool. And the lifestyle stuff will keep people coming back – they’ve got room to grow, but I’d say a good start.
As a self-proclaimed crazy dog owner, I think this is a great idea. I also use the medical forums on MedHelp (www.medhelp.org/pets) to get answers from other dog owners or their vets. I like the idea of having this more editorial content from WebVet, but also being able to get an answer to MY specific question from MedHelp.
I have a free Website for special needs dog owners that links to reliable, reputable vet information, not just one vague article written from one vet’s point of view. The Web is chock full of good information, you just need to know how to weed out the snake oil salespeople and find good information, which is what Gimpydogs does. Not only do we provide links to holistic and alternative treatments, but we also provide links to support groups and have our own support group, we also list rescue groups that adopt out special needs dogs, and highlight special needs cases that need funds for surgeries or treatments. All free and no ads.
I looked at your site and it broke my heart. I commend you for your dedication and implore other readers to visit. I do however see the need for a site like webvet to exist alongside your own. The community needs dedicated sites like yours as well as a broader-scoped site that conveys respected, veterinary approved material about ALL pets.
From the time I’ve spent on the site in the last hour, I do not see only vague articles written by one single vet, but the start of a reliable source of certified material (by a coalition of credited veterinarians). Not once did I see an ad on their site or any other biased solicitations, simply information that you would find at your local vet’s office pertaining to your specific pet. Most importantly, I do not believe that the ONLY site ever endorsed by the AAHA thus far would have any relation to ’snake oil salespeople’.
I think we all need to understand that this is the best site to come yet in terms of overall pet well-being and owner awareness…and it’s only in it’s first day. I for one will come back and I am excited that the animal community has webvet.
the big Q is are we going to see as many social networks for pets now??
i can already see a bunch of dogs giving each other hugs, a group of street cats going on a diet together…
I noticed Organizedwisdom.com (@ front of article) is not limited to human health, because they created a number of animal health wisdom cards. Not sure about the others
I’ve really enjoyed WebVet.com. I am very attentive to my parrot Sam, and the website gives me great tips and rules to help keep him healthy. WebVet is also doing a contest for the most talented bird which I will be entering Sam in!!
This is the best out there. http://www.petzMD.com they have the coolest interactive Symptom Checker online period. Original content, user pages, tons and tons of content. This makes the others look like puppies!
Hi,
Notice 2 lumps on my dog stomach one the size of a walnuhe and the other one size of a pecan .What possibly this can be?
if it’s soft and moveable, attached to the skin and not underlying tissue it could be a lipoma, basically a fatty lump, an aspiration biopsy and slide could dx this; these are harmless and comon to many breeds (both of my Labs had many); if the lumps are harder, fixed to underlying tissue go to your vet asap, if lumps are painful to your pet go to vet asap as wellas well
i would like to find out when do u know your dog is going to have puppies?
How do I start writing for this site?
ok well im confused my puppy has an issue with his eye. we think its like pink eye but we dont know i was wondering ig anyone knew anything about this?
thanks
Hi,
Our Rottie Lulu is pregnant and we’re concerned because she is scratching so much it’s creating bald spots. Is this from the Hormones and is there something we can do to help?
Thanks
my cat has not been eating for two week to a month. We got her from the humane society and she had stilborns then 2 days later she got spaid. We bought her two days after that and she came home ate fine. I slowely swtched her food to another brand and she ate it for a few days and then stopped eating period. I tried tuna fish, bowl of milk, and a seringe of milk which she had no choice but to swallow. But other than that she won’t eat. She is so skinny I feel like I am picking up skin and bones. I have no money to take her in unless I can make payments and so far that is no good on the places I called. What should I do?
It’s funny, but it seems this page has become a “webmd for pets” with all the questions and comments.
Indeed, it has!
what are the mosst severe system caused by flea bites that a dog can get? when should i be concerned and go beyond the home treatments and flea shampoos?
A better place to ask your pet related questions is in PetWave.com’s discussion forum, http://www.petw.../Community.aspx.
http://www.Petwave.com is a great resource for finding all your dog breed, dog health, and dog care questions. They also have great information on cat breeds, and cat health.