General News
6 December, 2022
Local entrepreneur revolutionises pet healthcare
CAIRNS local Josh Fidrmuc, 26, has always been a problem-solver, so when his friend came to him with a sick pet, a tight budget and nowhere to go, he knew something needed to be done to keep our pets healthy at any time and any day.
Dial A Vet is a revolutionary app, available for iOS and Android, that provides pet owners across Australia with on-demand video consultations with licensed veterinary professionals 24/7 through a subscription model.
The idea for this project began during the pandemic when Fidrmuc’s friend called him in a panic with his dog vomiting, not a vet available in the area and a very tight budget.
“During COVID, my friend rang me at about 11.40pm at night saying – my dog’s vomiting; I don’t know what to do, the vets are away, the closest emergency vet was 30 minutes away,” he said.
“My friend was a uni student, he didn’t have a lot of money to pay the vet bill, and he said – why can’t I just call them and speak to them and see if I need to take him in or not.”
After finding such a huge gap for pet owners, due to his problem-solving qualities and passion for animals, Fidrmuc decided to found Dial A Vet.
“Firstly, I understood that there was a need in the market, so I reached out to pet owners that I know, to friends and family, and I said if there was a 24/7 vet service, would you benefit from that?” he said.
“Also, it would be subscription-based, you pay a monthly subscription, and you can call the vet and vet nurse as often as you’d like.
“Once I had that data, I realised it was a needed service, so I planned how it would work, and that meant we had to create an app.”
Fidrmuc went on to contact app developers across Australia and pitch the app idea to them until he found the perfect team who helped him design and develop the app. He also put great effort into finding licensed veterinarians and nurses, which gave him insight into the veterinary industry’s struggles.
“In Australia, there’s a significant vet shortage,” Fidrmuc said. “Not enough vets to cater for pet owners across Australia, and there’s a significant amount of stress on vets.
“Vets have a suicide rate nearly as high as police officers, meaning their industry needs to be taken care of.
“And we’re proud that we could offer a safe space for vets outside the clinic to make an extra income from the comfort of their home and reduce clinic hours if they want to.”
After the many hiccups that a start-up can go through, growing the network of licensed vets and receiving feedback from them, Dial A Vet was finally launched on October 7, 2022.
Dial A Vet has over 250 vets and vet nurses across the country providing on-demand consultations 24/7, and pet owners are responding, with an expected 2,000 clients by March 2023.
“In Australia, funny enough, we’re the first on-demand veterinary app making us number one automatically,” Fidrmuc said.
“We’ve managed to resolve 90 per cent of all pet concerns that have come through the app.
“Now that the app is created and the interest is validated by over 2,000 pet owners on our waiting list, it is giving me more fire to introduce this app to every pet owner in Australia.”
Fidrmuc hopes to keep growing Dial A Vet and keep improving to cater to all the needs of pet owners while revolutionising pet telehealth in Australia.
For more information, visit www.dialavet.com
