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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 29 ,2 01 8 | 12 YOUR city YOUR news also available online Emma Harris was on abusiness trip to Bostonwhen she got a franticphone call from her fiancé that their new dog Bo had taken ill. They were both unsure of what to do, and Harris was par- ticularly frustrated feeling there was no way to help in the situa- tion with no service that could offer a diagnosis of whether it was an emergency. Harris was working for an- other startup when she came up with a startup idea of her own - an online telemedicine service for pets like Bo to give a little peace of mind to their worried pet parents. "People know about the con- cept of Telehealth Ontario or even one of the more modern technology startups within that space that allow you to connect with a physician on demand for when you need it, either for yourself or for your kids," said Harris. "The aim is to avoid unnecessary visits to the hospi- tal or walk-in clinic until you can see your family physician. "Even if you don't have a pet most people resonate with this need and the gap that it fills, and that's how I framed this service." The idea got the boost she wanted when she was selected to join the Accelerator Centre high-tech incubator program as the founder of Healthy Pets in January 2017, a service that would link pet owners with veterinarian clinics after hours and provide guidance and as- sessments about whether a situ- ation needed immediate atten- tion and a visit to an emergency pet clinic. "They really supported me through that first year of growth," said Harris, about the company which is Canada's only telemedicine service to connect pet owners with local veterinari- ans on-demand via video chat. "One third of the time their concern can be resolved right away and it's a minor or non- issue. The rest of the time they will need a followup visit to the clinic, and the peak use of tele- medicine is after hours." Harris has since grown her team and left the Accelerator Centre, updating her web ser- vice at healthypets.io and refin- ing it with one of the 17 clinics she's partnered with in Ontario. The goal is to take the service national and one day reach all across North America. There's a need, she said. And emergency visit to an after hours clinic can run hundreds of dollars. Healthy Pets is a more cost-effective alternative and can save you time, money and worry from rushing your cherished family member to the vet. And taking care of pets has become a big business in North America, especially among mil- lennials who treat pets like members of the family or empty nesters whose pets have re- placed their children who have flown the coop. "Pet health is huge and the demand is growing," said Harris. "They are truly a member of the family in a phenomenon known as the humanization of pets, where we superimpose our own characteristics on them. "So whatever their needs may be, we're willing to do whatever it takes to get them better, and that growth is being fuelled by people like the millennials who are having kids later or maybe not at all and their pet is truly their baby. "Then there's the baby boom- ers, like my parents, with no kids at home but their two dogs are like their children. It's helped turn the pet industry into a $92 billion a year industry, and it's still growing by eight per cent per year." Harris is so passionate about her pitch that she's taking it to CBC's Dragons' Den Thursday night where she has the poten- tial of an audience of millions of people to share her business plans. "You can't think of the mil- lions of people who eventually watch when your in the Den," said Harris. "But it was a great experience, and I do enjoy pub- lic speaking and presentations so I wasn't too nervous. "It was the ultimate pitch, I guess." Harris said her company is in the next stage of expanding its staff and its reach, and will be having some big announcements to make at a special viewing party March 29 at King West Hotel in Toronto. Taking a leap of faith is noth- ing new for Harris. She was part of a micro-financing project in Ethiopia before studying for her Masters in Science in England. She returned home to Canada and caught the entrepreneurial bug working for a biotech start- up out of the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto before com- ing up with her own startup idea. "They way I look at things is what's the worst that can hap- pen?" said Harris. "I think every- thing will turn out fine, where my fiancé is the worrier." So how is Bo? Well the pup is now full grown and is doing well after a giving his pet parents a scare with a case of lung worm. Now he's become the face of the franchise and just as popular a member of the team as Harris. "I call him my CIO," said Harris. "He's my chief inspira- tion officer." Bo and his pet parent Emma Harris celebrate his health after a lungworm scare sent her into a tailspin while on a business trip. The scare inspired her to start a telemedicine service called Healthy Pets that provides pet owners some peace of mind. Healthy Pets photo Healthy Pets ready to take the next step Telemedicine service gives pet owners somewhere to turn with after hours health concerns BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca BUSINESS Visit waterloochronicle.ca for more coverage