From Irish wolfhounds to lions and porcupines, Umhlanga business owner Kyne Lupini has been surrounded by animals her entire life. Spotting a gap in the market, she recently launched a pet management system app that allows you to ensure your best friend is always safe, healthy and happy. We chatted to the pet-loving entrepreneur.
Store your pet’s medical records, set reminders, search through a list of carefully vetted services or choose an adventure for you and your four-legged babies. These are just a few of the things pet owners can do using Kyne and her business partner Shannon Sweetman’s new pet management app, called TAME.
Kyne owns Wolf & Women, an online store specialising in high quality, natural treats and grooming products and Shannon is a pet photographer, author and owner of Dog Meets Girl, a pet focused ad agency that also offers a subscription box service.
Although she’s lived in Umhlanga for five years, Kyne spent much of her childhood at a game lodge in Limpopo. It was here, she says that her love for animals and wildlife was ignited. After school, Kyne started a wildlife rehabilitation centre at the lodge. “It started with two Barn owls and, within a month, we had six owls, a whole reptile area and were building large encampments,” she says.
It was here, Kyne says, that she realised how important the ‘treats’ she gave to the animals were. They allowed her to work with, heal and form a bond with the animals. “When we moved to Durban I knew I needed to do something that was close to my heart. Wolf & Women is all about the bond and the moments that a treat can bring to you and your pet. The treats are healthy and wrapped individually in biodegradable packaging and we also sell amazing grooming products.”
When she saw a gap in the market for a pet app, Kyne and Shannon decided to go for it. The app is aimed at making pet parent’s lives a little easier, from allowing them to stay on top of their pet’s vaccinations and have their medical history on hand, to keeping abreast of food and health trends, being able to shop online and even have a video consultation with a vet.
There is a list of vetted services which, whether you are home or away on holiday with your animals (thanks to geotagging) includes vets, groomers, daycare services, pet sitters, dog walkers and behaviourists and a shop section, where you can buy local, high quality products. “The amount of quality artisanal brands we have in South Africa is positively astounding and the world needs to see more of them,” says Shannon.
In addition to the above services which are all free, users have the option of upgrading to premium (R59.99 per month), which opens up another whole offering, including the ‘adventure’ section, which helps you find pet-friendly restaurants, accommodation and events according to your location, the ‘advice’ section and even ‘find me a pet’, where you can connect with breed-specific shelters. “Find Me A Pet is our passion project and our way of giving back. We have tried to make the process as easy as possible with our online match assessment which will give the rescue organisation great insight when placing a pet,” says Kyne.
TAME pet app is available on Android and IOS.
Details: www.tame.org.za, IG: @tameapp, FB: @tamepetapp
