The Problem
Pet owners, especially those with aging or terminally ill pets, face emotional and practical challenges in tracking their pet’s well-being and making difficult care decisions. Without a structured way to assess changes over time, it can be hard to determine when supportive interventions or end-of-life considerations are necessary. Additionally, coordinating care among veterinarians, pet sitters, and other support team members can be cumbersome, making communication and planning more stressful for pet owners.
The Solution
LightSky developed Hospet, a SaaS platform designed to provide pet owners with data-driven insights into their pet’s quality of life. The application offers features such as:
- Daily Rating Tracking – Users can log their pet’s well-being daily, tracking categories like movement, nourishment, and behavior. Premium users unlock historical data and rolling average graphs for deeper insights.
- Quality of Life Assessments – A structured questionnaire helps pet owners evaluate their pet’s condition, with results highlighting areas where supportive interventions may be needed.
- Support Team Coordination – Users can add veterinarians, pet loss doulas, pet sitters, and other caregivers to their pet’s profile, allowing seamless email sharing of assessments and updates.
- End-of-Life Planning Tools – Guided planning helps owners make informed decisions about their pet’s care and comfort.
Technical Approach
Hospet was built using Ruby on Rails for the backend, leveraging PostgreSQL as the database to store structured pet health records. The frontend is a modern, responsive interface designed for ease of use across mobile and desktop platforms. Key technical highlights include:
- Noticed Gem for Notifications – Ensures users receive reminders at their preferred local time zones.
- Graphing and Data Visualization – Uses Chart.js to generate rolling average trend lines for pet health tracking.
- Multi-Tenancy & Role-Based Access – Allows users to manage multiple pets with permission-based support team access.
- Scalable Infrastructure – Deployed on AWS with auto-scaling to handle user growth efficiently.
By combining user-friendly design with powerful analytics, Hospet empowers pet owners to make informed decisions with clarity and confidence at every stage of their pet’s journey.