System for providing end-to-end transportation and care for animals

Abstract

An end-to-end animal care solution provides transportation and care services for animals. For instance, transportation of animals to/from a pickup/dropoff location may be provided by one or more buses and grooming services, daycare services, boarding services, training services, spa services, and/or veterinary services may be provided may one or more “ranches.” This provides an easy and safe way for owners to give their pets a healthy, pleasant, and engaging experience without having to drive their pets to the actual pet care location.

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, by a computing system, information from at least one scanner of a plurality of scanners indicating that an animal has been scanned as being picked up from a first pickup/dropoff location by a bus, and updating the location of the animal in a database as on the bus;   receiving, by the computing system, information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been transferred to an area of a ranch, and updating the location of the animal in the database as in the area;   receiving, by the computing system, information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been scanned as being picked up by the bus from the ranch, and updating the location of the animal in the database as on the bus; and   receiving, by the computing system, information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that then animal has been scanned as being picked up from the first pickup/dropoff location or a second pickup/dropoff location by an authorized individual, and updating the location of the animal in the database as no longer in custody.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 dispatching the bus, by the computing system, to the first pickup/dropoff location, the second pickup/dropoff location, or both.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 scanning the animal, by at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners; and   displaying an image of the animal, an authorized individual, a name of the animal, or any combination thereof, by the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners comprises a cell phone. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners is affixed to or otherwise associated with the bus, an area of the ranch facility, or both. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the animal is associated with a barcode, a QR code, an RFID tag, or a transmitter that is detected by the scanner. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners is associated with the bus and at least one other scanner of the plurality of scanners is associated with the ranch facility. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 scanning the animal, by at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners after arrival at the first pickup/dropoff location or the second pickup dropoff location; and   displaying an image of the individual authorized to pickup the animal, a name of the individual, or both, by the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 recording, by a computing system, a kennel that the animal is located in on the bus.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 releasing the kennel, by the computing system, after receiving notification from a scanner, a bus computing system, or both, that the animal has been transferred to the ranch facility or picked up by an authorized individual.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 billing an individual associated with the animal, by the computing system, immediately after the animal is picked up by the authorized individual, or periodically for services performed during a predetermined time period.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a list of services to be performed, a respective animal for each service, and a respective time for each service, by the computing system, to the ranch, wherein the services to be performed comprise grooming services, daycare services, boarding services, training services, spa services, and/or veterinary services.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the computing system, whether one or more of the animal's vaccinations, a yearly checkup, or both, are overdue; and   providing an indication to the bus driver, by the computing system, when one or more of the animal's vaccinations, the yearly checkup, or both, are overdue.   
     
     
         14 . A computer program embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the computer program configured to cause at least one processor to:
 dispatch a bus to a first pickup/dropoff location, a second pickup/dropoff location, or both;   determine whether one or more of an animal's vaccinations, a yearly checkup, or both, are overdue;   when one or more of the animal's vaccinations, the yearly checkup, or both, are overdue, provide an indication that the animal's vaccinations, a yearly checkup, or both, are overdue; and   when the animal's vaccinations, the yearly checkup, or both, are not overdue:
 receive information from at least one scanner of a plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been scanned as being picked up from the first pickup/dropoff location by a bus, and update the location of the animal in a database as on the bus, 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been transferred to an area of a ranch, and update the location of the animal in the database as in the area, 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been scanned as being picked up by the bus from the ranch, and update the location of the animal in the database as on the bus, and 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that then animal has been scanned as being picked up from the first pickup/dropoff location or the second pickup/dropoff location by an authorized individual, and update the location of the animal in the database as no longer in custody. 
   
     
     
         15 . The computer program of  claim 14 , wherein the program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
 record a kennel that the animal is located in on the bus; and   release the kennel after receiving notification from a scanner, a bus computing system, or both, that the animal has been transferred to the ranch facility or picked up by an authorized individual.   
     
     
         16 . The computer program of  claim 14 , wherein the program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to bill an individual associated with the animal immediately after the animal is picked up by the authorized individual, or periodically for services performed during a predetermined time period. 
     
     
         17 . The computer program of  claim 14 , wherein the program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to provide a list of services to be performed, a respective animal for each service, and a respective time for each service to the ranch, wherein the services to be performed comprise grooming services, daycare services, boarding services, training services, spa services, and/or veterinary services. 
     
     
         18 . The computer program of  claim 14 , wherein the program is further configured to cause the at least one processor to:
 receive a request from a user for a map with a current position of an animal on a map or at a ranch; and   provide the map with the current position of the animal to the user.   
     
     
         19 . A system, comprising:
 memory storing executable instructions; and   at least one processor operably connected to the memory and configured to execute the executable instructions, wherein   the at least one processor is configured to:
 receive information from at least one scanner of a plurality of scanners indicating that an animal has been scanned as being picked up from a first pickup/dropoff location by a bus and a first kennel to which the animal is assigned, update the location of the animal in a database as on the bus, and store the assigned kennel, 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been transferred to an area of a ranch, update the location of the animal in the database as in the area, and unassign the assigned kennel, 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that the animal has been scanned as being picked up by the bus from the ranch and a second kennel to which the animal is assigned, update the location of the animal in the database as on the bus, and store the assigned kennel, and 
 receive information from the at least one scanner of the plurality of scanners indicating that then animal has been scanned as being picked up from the first pickup/dropoff location or a second pickup/dropoff location by an authorized individual, update the location of the animal in the database as no longer in custody, and unassign the assigned kennel. 
   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , where the at least one processor is further configured to dispatch the bus to the first pickup/dropoff location, the second pickup/dropoff location, or both.