Pawrate began with a dog we love. His name is Louis.
If you love an animal and sometimes worry whether you're getting things right for them, then you already know the feeling Pawrate comes from.
When Louis moved in, Pawrate did not exist yet.
Louis was Anna and Lukas's first dachshund: small, headstrong, and full of character, with slightly-too-big paws and a personality that filled every room the moment he entered it. It did not take long for a new dog to become family.
Over time, more and more questions started to appear. We later learned that Louis had not had an easy start in life and was more vulnerable health-wise than we first knew. Small quirks turned into bigger concerns, and vet visits became part of everyday life. Again and again we just wanted to do right by him, and weren't sure what that was. You probably know that feeling, when a dog or cat you love isn't well.
You might know the feeling.
There are countless vets, trainers, products, and opinions. And it's often that very abundance that makes good decisions harder, not easier. Everything looks professional, every recommendation sounds convincing. The hard part isn't finding options. It's knowing whom to trust.
For us, what changed things wasn't a search engine, but a person we trusted. Suddenly someone was listening, someone we understood. And we realised we'd been looking for the wrong thing all along.
Owners don't need more information. They need guidance they can trust.
So we're building what we wish we'd had.
Because it was never really about one decision. Life with an animal is full of small moments where you want to do right by them and aren't quite sure. No one should have to face that alone, or just hope for the best. There's already plenty to take care of.
So we're building Pawrate the way we'd want it ourselves: an everyday companion for life with an animal. Somewhere to keep an eye on their health, to get a thoughtful answer when a question comes up, to learn as you go, and to find vets, places and content we've checked ourselves, instead of chasing down every recommendation alone. Not the most of everything, but the right things, when you need them.
We're owners too.
It all started at home: with Louis, with Anna and Lukas, and with Marc, Anna's brother. None of us set out to build a company. We just wanted to do right by an animal we love, and when we saw how hard even that can be, we decided to build something better ourselves.
Since then, the Pawrate family has grown. There are a few more of us now, and a few more dogs and cats on the team too, all here for the same reason: we live with animals we love and worry about them just like you do. We believe that anyone who loves an animal deserves to feel they're doing right by them.
Without Louis, there would be no Pawrate.
Louis is doing well these days. He still loudly announces every visitor at the door and reminds us that dachshunds have a mind of their own. Everything we build still leads back to him.
In the end, it's about you and the animal you love.
If you've ever felt the way we did, we hope Pawrate makes it a little easier. That's the whole reason it exists.