During the holidays, many families open their hearts and their homes to new pets. But what happens after the adoption? Who supports the adopter through the first night, the unexpected behavior, or the “am I doing this right?” moment?
We sat down with Matt Russell, CEO and co-founder of Petszel, to talk about how the company is transforming post-adoption support with real-time, personalized guidance that helps more pets stay in loving homes. Their mission is simple but urgent: give every adopter the confidence, tools, and support to thrive, starting the moment they walk out of the shelter.
Here’s how Petszel is using technology, empathy, and Iterable’s platform to reimagine the future of pet adoption support—just in time for the holidays.
1. What inspired you to launch Petszel?
Petszel began with a simple realization: adoption is one of the most meaningful moments in a pet parent’s journey, yet the support system that follows has often been inconsistent. Shelters are stretched thin, adopters can feel alone the moment they walk out the door, and many early challenges could be prevented with the right guidance and timely information.
The concept grew from seeing the same pattern across the animal welfare landscape: dedicated organizations doing everything they can but lacking tools to stay connected with adopters when help is needed most. Petszel was created to fill that gap by providing proactive, personalized support throughout the critical first days and weeks after adoption so more pets can thrive in their new homes and more families feel confident every step of the way.
2. What is most often overlooked in supporting new pet parents?
What’s often overlooked is how uniquely personal the transition is. Every pet has a different background, health profile, and personality. Every adopter brings their own expectations, lifestyle, and learning curve.
The missing piece has always been individualized guidance, meeting people where they are with support tailored to their pet, their experience level, and the emotional realities of those first few months. Petszel solves this by offering structured, empathetic check-ins, behavior tips, medical reminders, and real-time help based on each pet’s specific needs. We’re bridging the gap between the shelter and the home in a way that has never existed before.
3. What did post-adoption communication look like before Petszel?
Before Petszel, post-adoption communication was typically a mix of paper handouts, static emails, or one-size-fits-all newsletters sent weeks after adoption. Shelters did their best, but with limited staff and thousands of pets moving through the system, proactive follow-up simply wasn’t feasible.
The process needed to shift from reactive to proactive, and from generic to personalized. Our vision was to create a way for adopters to receive timely guidance that reflects the care and expertise of the shelter team that supported their pet. Petszel takes what was once a manual, inconsistent process and turns it into a reliable, supportive experience that reaches families when they need it most.
4. How does Petszel tailor each journey?
We start by syncing real-time data from the shelter’s software: everything from the pet’s profile to medical treatments, care notes, and other important details. That data shapes the entire communication journey.
For example, adopters often leave the shelter with a lot of information to remember. Petszel makes it easier by sending clear, timely guidance right when it matters most. A new pet parent might receive tips for the first night at home, suggestions for creating a calm settling-in routine, or reminders about what to expect during the early adjustment period…all based on what we learned from the animal’s initial data.
We see families adopt cats who spend their first few days hiding or acting fearful. Petszel helps reassure adopters that this can be completely normal as cats learn a new environment at their own pace. The platform provides gentle, step-by-step content on creating safe spaces, encouraging exploration, and building trust gradually. Adopters often tell us that this kind of guidance makes them feel calmer, more prepared, and far less worried that they’re doing something wrong.
That is the impact of giving every family thoughtful, well-timed support. It reduces anxiety, strengthens the bond, and helps pets stay in their new homes.
5. How do you maintain empathy at scale?
Empathy doesn’t have to diminish with scale…if anything, the right technology amplifies it. We designed Petszel to mimic the experience of having a shelter professional in your corner during those early weeks. By leveraging automation, behavioral insights, and real-time data, we deliver support that feels human, thoughtful, and timely even across hundreds of thousands of adopters.
Every message is written through an empathetic lens, grounded in what adopters tell us through surveys, and refined through feedback loops with shelter teams. We’ve proven that technology isn’t replacing compassion…it’s enabling shelters to extend it to every adopter, no matter how busy they are.
6. What role has Iterable played?
Iterable is becoming a foundational partner in helping us scale this vision. The platform allows us to build deeply personalized, dynamic journeys that update instantly as new data syncs from the shelter.
Iterable gives us the flexibility to tailor content, timing, and triggers based on each pet’s unique profile without sacrificing speed or reliability. That level of sophistication is what allows us to serve hundreds of shelters and deliver individualized support a national scale. Their team has been incredibly collaborative as we push into new use cases that blend animal welfare, education, and community support.
7. How do you think about Petszel’s broader impact?
Petszel sits at the intersection of animal welfare, family dynamics, and community health. Adopting a pet is a major life event…it affects routines, stress levels, emotional well‑being, and sometimes financial stability. When we support adopters well, pets stay in homes, families feel more confident, and shelters can focus on lifesaving work instead of preventable returns.
Our mission is bigger than communication. We’re creating a safety net that helps reduce shelter overcrowding, improves pet health outcomes, and strengthens the bond between people and their animals. That’s why this work matters: it’s purpose‑driven technology focused on keeping pets in loving homes.
8. What’s your advice to new pet parents during the holidays?
The holidays are a wonderful time to welcome a pet, but they can also be overwhelming for families and animals. My biggest advice is to slow everything down. Give your new pet a quiet space, predictable routines, and time to decompress.
The “Rule of 3” is a helpful guide: 3 days to settle, 3 weeks to learn the routine, and 3 months to feel fully at home. And remember, it’s okay if things don’t feel perfect right away. Lean on your pet care providers and resources like Petszel…we’re here to help every step of the way.
9. What’s next for Petszel?
We’re entering a really exciting chapter. In 2026, we’re expanding partnerships across veterinary care, nutrition, and other key areas of the pet ecosystem, bringing connected resources directly to adopters at the moments they need them most. We’re also making significant investments in the platform, including a major upgrade to our behavior support for adopters.
At the same time, we’re strengthening our data capabilities to help shelters better understand post-adoption trends, risk factors, and outcomes. A major focus of this work is advancing medical record standardization after adoption, so pet parents, veterinarians, and shelters can access clear, consistent information that supports better care. We’re also exploring features that make it even easier for adopters to book veterinary visits, access personalized guidance, and build deeper connections with their new pets.
Our north star remains unchanged: remove friction, increase support, and help more pets stay in homes where they are loved. There’s so much ahead, and we’re just getting started!
Marketing That Moves With People—And Pets
Petszel is proving that technology can do more than optimize workflows. It can extend compassion, strengthen bonds, and change lives. By meeting adopters with the right message at the right moment, they’re making it easier for families to succeed and for pets to stay exactly where they belong.
At Iterable, we believe this is the future of engagement: not campaigns, but conversations. Not broadcasts, but moments. Because when we personalize with purpose, we don’t just create better marketing—we create better outcomes.
And yes, that future just got a lot fluffier.
