The thing about Furmily is, you never want to leave them behind.
I spent ten years traveling with Pads, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We got through most of our 75 flights without a hitch—but one major slip-up was all it took to show me how easy it is to get it wrong.
Our nightmare happened in 2022. I’d like to say it was because we were off on a new adventure, but it was a flight path we’d taken many times before. Pads had a valid UK pet passport; we used the same vets and the same pre-approval processes we always had. But hoomans make errors, and in this case, there were three sets of them—each small, but together they caused heartbreak.
- In my scramble to finalize travel, I booked her vet appointment too close to our UK arrival. She needed at least 24 hours from the time of her deworming to touchdown, but my tired travel brain didn’t account for the time zone change.
- The UK only accepts deworming medication with a specific active ingredient. Our regular vet uncharacteristically used the wrong one. I didn’t notice until it was too late, and I hadn’t double-checked the label at the appointment.
- Worst of all, the airport authorities received the documentation (wrong timing, wrong medication) and approved it anyway, accepting payment and processing her for travel.
Pads was taken from me without clear instructions for release, no timeline, and no point of contact. No one reached out with updates. I had to chase answers through a general call center only to learn she’d been ready for release for over an hour while I sat waiting, panicked and powerless.
That moment – the helplessness, the silence, the realization that one small oversight could upend everything – was when the idea for PadsPass began.
Because travel shouldn’t be terrifying for you or your pet.
My app that launches in September is something for people like me—people who love their pets. People who want to travel with them without the fear of missing a vital step. And people who might not be traveling, but still want a safe, reliable place to store their pet’s health records.
PadsPass will simplify what’s become unnecessarily complex.
It’ll track key deadlines, flag health requirements by country, verify medications, and centralize all your pet’s travel records in one secure place.
If you’ve ever referred to your dog as your “child” you can likely imagine just how helpful it would be to have all of that in one easy app—especially as your lifestyle evolves.
That’s particularly true for a growing number of baby boomers—people who’ve done the diaper bags and school pickups, and are now packing kibble and vet records and looking forward to pet playdates.
No guesswork. No crossed wires. Just peace of mind for people traveling without toddlers, but with four-footed companions in tow. People who see their dogs and cats not as pets, but as family.
This app is for:
Empty nesters who wouldn’t dream of boarding a plane without their pup.
People whose grown kids swing by en route to the airport, dropping off a leash, a list of instructions, and the grand-dog before they disappear without missing a beat.
Retirees with more time to explore the world, but no patience for confusing paperwork, drug codes, or last-minute vet scrambles.
It’s time for something that makes travel safer, easier, and more intuitive for the generation that finally has the time to go places, and wants to bring their furry friend along for the ride.
Because when you’re headed out on an adventure, the last thing you should worry about is whether your dog’s deworming window was 24 hours too short.
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