PetChatz is webcam, treat and odor dispenser for pets and their ...

They're called "pet parents," the extra-devoted animal owners who spare no expense on their dogs and cats.

What if they could keep in touch when they're away from home?

For peace of mind, some people have set up webcams with built-in two-way audio to watch and interact with their homebound companions.

Now a Minnesota company has come up with the ultimate petcam -- one that dispenses treats and exudes soothing aromas while letting pets and their masters see and hear each other.

Called PetChatz, it can be controlled from afar using a phone app or desktop browser. With the tap of a touchscreen or a keyboard, the owner can release a treat from within the device for Fido to enjoy.

The product is not yet available, but maker Anser Innovation of Minneapolis is aiming to ramp up production soon with the goal of offering the petcam in Minnesota in the fall and around the country in early 2014.

Anser CEO Lisa Lavin calls the product "a greet-and-treat videophone."

It is primarily intended for dogs, but some cats might like it "if they're treat-motivated, and come when they are called," she said.

"Pet parents" are so designated by the amount of money they're willing to spend. These folks often place their animals on an equal footing with human members of their households, Lavin said. For them, the gadget's $350 price tag would seem reasonable alongside the huge food and veterinary care bills they routinely incur.

Inventor Mark Kroll of Orono said

he got the idea about a decade ago while communicating by webcam with his daughter, Mollie, in Arizona.

"All of a sudden, our yellow Lab came tearing into the room, all excited because she had heard her human sister's voice," Kroll recalled. "(The dog) was jumping around, trying to find where the voice was coming from."

Kroll, a former executive at St. Jude Medical, said he had an "aha moment" while the dog fixated on Mollie's voice, ignoring her image on the screen.

Soon thereafter, Kroll filed patents covering various aspects of a hypothetical product, including treat dispensing and odor emitting. Such a gadget, he reasoned, had to hit dog senses other than sight.

Kroll has filed hundreds of patents over the years. It was a few years later that he met Lavin. He said she asked him whether he "had a (promising) patent burning a hole in his back pocket."

The eventually teamed up with Kroll's son, Braden -- they're all pet owners -- to develop PetChatz around those old animal-related patents.

Lavin, who runs Anser's day-to-day operations, is already thinking beyond pets. She thinks the technology could also work for people -- for example, those who are keeping tabs on elderly, homebound parents to make certain

The PetChatz creators say the specialized webcam is mostly for dogs. It will work for cats but only the kind that come for treats when summoned (not all are). (Courtesy photo)

they take their medication on schedule.

PetChatz isn't the first product of its kind. A combo webcam and animal feeder dubbed iSeePet got a burst of publicity on news sites and tech blogs a decade ago, but is now hard to find.

Webcams are selling for pet-care applications, though they're typically used by animal-boarding facilities. The PetChatz product, however, will be marketed primarily to consumers and not boarding facilities.

Lavin said the PetChatz camera can be set up anywhere a Wi-Fi signal is available. The device plugs into, and is installed over, a regular wall outlet so it is flush against the vertical surface with no sharp edges or "pry points."

The PetChatz cam has a "spy mode" for monitoring a pet without any interaction. Once such an exchange is initiated, via a soft chime that the pet learns to heed, a human appears on a small color display on the front of the device.

An absorbent pad within the device can be imbued with an odor an animal recognizes and likes.

Treats go into a bin within the device, and the animal owners can be flagged when the supply is running low. Parents can let their children feed the family pets via PetChatz but limit the number of treats that are dispensed.

"The product will give people so much peace of mind," Braden Kroll said.

"It's for those who have their sitters put the phone on speaker to talk to their pets. I used to make fun of such people until I got a dog and became one of them."

Follow Julio on Twitter: @ojezap. Contact him at jojeda@pioneerpress.com or 651-315-7090. Find him on Google+ and Facebook.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/ci_23099152/petchatz-is-webcam-treat-and-odor-dispenser-pets?source=rss

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