Photo: Courtesy of Karina Hoshikawa
Like many city dwellers during the pandemic, I re-evaluated many of my life choices after spending most of 2020 in quarantine. One thing I realized was that I couldn’t find any more excuses not to adopt a dog after wanting one my whole life. (Luckily, my rescue pup Miso felt the same way when we met at a shelter in Queens.)
Hopefully, the most uncertain of uncertain times are behind us; many people have returned to the office in one form or another, which means pet parents are no longer spending 24/7 (literally) with their fur babies. Although I continue to work most of the time, my schedule is slowly but surely becoming busier than ever. Whether it’s a late breakfast with croquettes (let’s just call it brunch) or leaving an event early to make sure they have dinner on time, keeping to the schedule becomes increasingly difficult as the calendars fill up again. Enter Petlibro’s Surveillance Camera Feeder, which combines the convenience (and peace of mind) of a Furbo with the Jetsons-like ability to dispense portioned amounts of food from your phone.
Photo: Courtesy of Karina Hoshikawa
For the presentation of this unbiased review, Petlibro offered Miso the Granary Camera Surveillance Charger. After unboxing it, I was surprised at how fancy it was; it was about the same size and shape as my Molekule Air Mini+ purifier and had a sleek panel of indicator lights representing low food, a locking mechanism, Wi-Fi, and more.
To set up your Petlibro, you must first download its free app and create an account. From there, you can find a place for your Petlibro, fill it with dry food (it won’t work with wet food, so avoid the mess and stick to the kibble) and pair it with your phone. Petlibro’s app offers several ways to connect your device, but I found the QR code method to be the easiest and fastest; Basically, you present a QR code from the app to the Petlibro charger’s built-in camera, and voila: paired!
Photo: Courtesy of Karina Hoshikawa
Miso isn’t a picky pup, but he was definitely skeptical about being machine-fed compared to his mom. The first time I used him I was still at home because I wanted to make sure he didn’t scare him too much. You can use the app to schedule meal times or manually distribute food as needed. Once he decided the scene was safe, he walked over to the bowl and started swallowing. Later in the week, I had dinner with my boyfriend and fed Miso while we enjoyed cocktails. Using the camera feature, I crawled over him as he approached the feeder. (See the adorable screenshots.) As for cleaning, the metal bowl easily slides out of the feeding tray, and the chamber that holds the food can easily be wiped down with a clean cloth and water. .
While this high-tech feeder isn’t replacing me anytime soon, having it as an option has already proven useful when errands or traffic get in the way of mealtimes. (For the busiest pet parents, this is a real game-changer.) At $140, it’s an investment, but one that’s certainly justifiable.
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