A bot that reminds pet owners and tells reception who to call

A Telegram bot and staff panel for a veterinary clinic. It reads appointments from Google Calendar, reminds owners 24 and 3 hours before a visit and writes their answer back into the calendar. An English white-label version can be set up for another clinic.

The task

The clinic books about 60 appointments a day in Google Calendar, 3 to 8 an hour across several vets. Owners forget their visits, and calling everyone isn't realistic. Owners had to be able to answer the reminder, and reception had to see that answer. SMS didn't give the clinic that, and a dedicated Viber sender cost at least €200 a month whatever the volume. The clinic chose Telegram.

A Telegram bot can't message anyone first. So each owner connects once, by scanning a QR code at reception or following a link and sharing their phone number. The appointment has to carry the same number, which is why the panel lists every appointment the bot can't reach.

What we built

• Reminders with a reply. 24 and 3 hours before the visit the owner gets a message with three buttons: I'll be there, Can't come, Reschedule. Nothing goes out at night.
• Marks in the calendar. The answer shows up in the event straight away, and reception keeps working in the same calendar. The bot never changes the schedule: staff create and move appointments.
• Who to call. A morning digest at 8:30 and a panel screen list appointments with no number, owners who aren't in the bot, unanswered reminders and requests to reschedule.
• A staff panel inside Telegram. The day's schedule, new appointments, search by owner or pet, visit history and reports.
• Freed-up slots. Staff can offer a cancelled time to owners who asked to reschedule or are due back. The first to tap gets a call from reception.
• Repeat visits. A tag in the calendar event sets a reminder for a check-up, vaccination, deworming or flea and tick treatment.
• Ward updates. Staff post photos and short notes, and the owner gets them in Telegram without having to call.
• Aftercare. The bot reminds owners about medication on schedule and asks how the pet is doing on set days. A worrying answer or the Got worse button alerts the vet at once.
• An owner account. Visits, pets with photos, gifts and clinic contacts.

The result

Reminders, replies and aftercare run on top of the calendar the clinic already uses, so reception doesn't have to move to a new system. In the English version the clinic's name, contacts, opening hours and reminder timing are settings.