Pet Pal Review – Pet information management made easy

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By: Polymorphic Ranch LLC

Version #: 1.2.0

Date Released: 2012-07-11

Developer: Polymorphic Ranch

Price: 2.99

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Pet Pal is not another virtual pet game, thank you very much. Rather, it’s a special iOS app (works in iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) dedicated to pet management — that is to say, management of real pets.

If, like me, you have a soft spot for animals and keep at least one pet, then Pet Pal is bound to be your best pal. Like a proud dog owner boasting about his pet’s fancy tricks, Pet Pal boasts plenty of features. And all of these features point toward hassle-free management of your pet’s information.

To keep track of your pet’s particulars, you need to create a pet profile in the app. If you’re expecting to fill out a bevy of perplexing fields, you’ll be gladly mistaken. That’s because Pet Pal includes only the most relevant bits of information about your pet and even lets you add other fields if you’re so inclined.

Among the details you can enter in the app are your pet’s name, gender, birthday, veterinarian, pedigree info, preferred food, weight, and, of course, species. Regarding the latter, the app lets you specify it manually, but it also invites you to use its wide-ranging species search function. This function accepts various types of inputs, so various, in fact, that you can search by common name, scientific name, breed, or a combination of the three.

The app also supports entry of habitat details. This feature, which is especially helpful for exotic pets such as tarantulas and iguanas, prompts you to specify the desired temperature and humidity levels for a certain habitat. If you’re mindful of these levels, then you wouldn’t have to worry about suddenly finding your beloved companion looking sick, or worse, looking dead, after a night of abnormal temperature and humidity.

In line with the app’s provisions for habitats, there’s also a records section in the app where you can log your pet’s habitat’s temperature, humidity, and even maintenance records. This section includes pet records as well, enabling you to make a note of your pet’s feeding days, status changes, vet visits, weight, and size. The latter two parameters, in particular, are gathered by the app to automatically generate interesting growth charts plotted over a period corresponding to one year or your pet’s lifespan. As for the other parameters, the app provides an interactive calendar to which you can add records concerning them and with which you can be notified of upcoming pet care events. Never miss an important feeding day or visit to the vet!

Note that for each type of record, you’re allowed to add an image or PDF attachment, say, a pet photo or a receipt from the vet, to enhance your record-keeping. And thanks to a recent update to the app, you can now print reports for each pet and habitat via AirPrint.

As any committed pet owner can attest, caring for a pet isn’t a walk in the park, even though a walk in the park may be your favorite thing to have with your pet. Fortunately, Pet Pal is just a $2.99 download away in the App Store to help you as you take good care of your real pet pal, whether it’s furry, scaly, slimy, or whatnot.