Bay Area teens create helpful app for pet owners during the COVID-19 shutdown

SUNNYVALE; Calif. -- Technology has helped and changed the way that everyone lives their lives and this also applies to our furry, four-legged family members.

Two Bay Area teenagers, Karan Dalal and Arnuv Tandon, have created and all-in-one, online pet management app.

The dynamic duo became friends in their high school's robotics team and noticed that they had a lot in common. During the COVID-19 shutdown, they decided to take the initiative to spend their influx of free time wisely by starting their own company, PetCode.

"We came up with this in May of 2020, I think because of the lockdown and there's so much going on in the world this gave us an outlet. It was something positive to look forward to everyday when I have a lot of free time left over," said Arnuv Tandon, Chief Operating Officer of PetCode. "We wouldn't of had enough time and energy to pursue this idea. But I think because the shutdown happened, everything is done remotely at your own pace. I think that's what enabled us to get our company started."

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Dalal and Tandon started thorough research and wanted to address the stress of pet owners. They found many pet owners worried about losing their pet, managing proper feeding times, pet prescriptions, and where to take their pets for exercise.

"Those were the main issues that we found and we decided to bake them into our app," said Tandon. "We wanted to touch on all of those points and solve them."

Dalal and Tandon designed a pet management system with a personalized QR code on a durable pet tag. Consumers are able to access an online pet portal with notifications to make pet ownership easier.

"You can create a custom pet profile, so when someone finds your dog and scans their tag, they get access to your most recent contact information. You also get access to the person's location and when they scanned the tag," said Karan Dalal, Chief Executive Officer. PetCode allows you to keep track of which vaccinations are active, store vaccination records, and set reminders for different medications. That way you never forget where your pet's health is going. Finally, PetCodes discovery aspect allows you discover nearby pet parks with ratings and reviews."

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With the purchase of PetCode, consumers also have access to exclusive discounts as a thank you.

Throughout PetCode's growth, Dalal and Tandon have hired nine employees in North America - all happen to be ambitious and like-minded teenagers.

"While we are still balancing school and homework, being in an online environment has given us the opportunity to work on school when we want to and work on PetCode when we need to," said Dalal. "That way we are able to set goals, stay active on them, and help bring PetCode to where it is today."

PetCode will be available to the public by the end of March 2021.

"What is really important to me about PetCode is originally why we started out," said Dalal. "I really love my dog and I know a lot of people have that same connection with their pets. Being able to protect that connection and to foster it. Making sure that their healthy, safe, and obviously you want to make sure that your pet is happy. That is what our mission has been all along - keeping pets safer, happier, and healthier.

For more information, visit the PetCode webiste.