Guess what? There are some useful and fun software programs around for pet owners, too. We can even use some projects for free. The open-source world is full of clever, heartfelt projects that help shelters, protect lost animals, or make it easier to manage your pet’s day-to-day life. Many of these tools run on passion instead of big budgets, which means small donations can truly keep them going.

So today, we’ll look at five open-source and free pet-related projects you can support through Kivach. This is a cascading-donations platform based on Obyte, where you can send crypto to any GitHub repository you like with just a few clicks.

Think of it as helping the creators who build tools that make life better for animals and the humans who care for them. Let’s explore some initiatives worth supporting.

PetCare

PetCare started development in 2024 at the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, created by a developer known as Yerold. Its purpose is simple and handy: it gives pet owners one place to manage their animals’ health details, vet visits, and basic daily care so nothing gets forgotten during a busy week.

The app keeps profiles for each pet and stores medical history, vaccinations, dietary preferences, medications, and vet appointments. It also offers reminders for feeding, grooming, walks, or anything else you want to track. Since it’s still in early development, you run it by downloading the code, opening it in Android Studio, and launching it from there.

Right now, PetCare is under active construction, with plans to arrive on the Play Store eventually. You can contribute by giving feedback, opening issues on GitHub, or sending suggestions to their support email. As far as funding goes, it depends on community input and volunteer effort. Kivach is a good and easy way __to send some coins__to the team.

Hackapet

Animal shelters could probably run half their daily tasks on projects like these if they knew about them. Hackapet began in 2024 with a group of volunteer developers, designers, and animal advocates who wanted to give shelters better tools. Instead of one app, it grew into a collection of repositories that cover web platforms, mobile apps, and shared logic. They help shelters organize records, handle adoptions, and reduce the amount of manual work that usually lives in spreadsheets and scattered notes.

Its repos include several programs, with PetSync as the most complete system. This software offers animal profiles, medical histories, calendars for vet visits, adoption portals, and even automation for social posts when pets become available. Using it feels similar to switching from a messy notebook to a clean dashboard. To try it, you clone the repo, run the Docker-based setup, and access the local servers for testing or development.

The project is active and still expanding through volunteer work. Contributions come from many collaborators, including local shelters (in Spain) that offer feedback and guidance. There’s no formal funding structure. Development depends on donated time and community participation. If you wish to support them with some crypto, they appear on Kivach as hackapet-project/petsync_web_v2.

PetPal

Here we have another pet-owner-friendly app. Created in 2025 by a developer named Irene Carlota, PetPal serves as a web-based companion to help owners store and organize all the important details about their pets. It’s similar to PetCare, but packed with some additional features.

The software lets you record essential data about each pet’s species, breed, birthdate, microchip number, and insurance. On top of that, you can keep a photo gallery with date-stamped memories, log entries like vet visits or special events, track weight history with graphs, and manage vaccination, deworming, or medication schedules. It’s ideal for owners who want a comprehensive overview of their pet’s health and history. You set it up by running the code, signing in, adding your pets, and then using the web interface to add photos, updates, or logs.

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It remains active on GitHub, where updates, improvements, and bug fixes appear as the project evolves. There’s no company overseeing its development, which keeps the project open for anyone who wants to try it. Found it useful enough? Send them some crypto love via Kivach.

PuppySignal

A missing pet is likely one of the worst things that may happen to you, so tools built to avoid that stress feel quite welcome. PuppySignal, which arrived in 2024, was created by Fabrizio Liotta exactly for this. It turns a simple QR code into a dynamic tag that updates your contact details through an online profile. This solves the usual problem of outdated phone numbers printed on metal tags and gives pets a safer path home.

The platform stores your pet’s profile on your account and generates a unique QR code you can print on any tag. When someone scans it, they see the contact information you chose to share, and you receive a phone notification along with the location, if the finder allows it. Owners use the mobile app to manage pets, view past scan points, and check updates, while the backend handles authentication, tracking, and image data. Setup involves configuring a Firebase project and launching the repositories through Docker.

Development continues through several linked components like the backend, the mobile app, and the found page. Its infrastructure relies on services such as Firebase and Google Maps, and collaborations come in through users who test features, report issues, or submit improvements across its repositories. For monetary contributions, you can find this project on Kivach.

MyTamagotchi

A real pet needs years of care, attention, patience, and money, so practicing caretaking with a small digital creature can be far less intimidating. The original Tamagotchi was a tiny egg-shaped device from the nineties where you looked after a pixel pet that grew, got sick, made a mess, and sometimes departed sooner than you hoped. MyTamagotchi follows that tradition. Released by John Farina around 2023, it recreates that familiar routine in a simple web format that runs in your browser.

The game includes feeding, healing, and play, plus growth stages that shift over time. You start by opening the website and watching your creature hatch. From there, you keep an eye on hunger, health, and happiness, just as you would on the old handheld toy. There’s even a guessing game that echoes the original device, and a variety of characters that appear as your pet matures. Animations, themes, and the little egg interface give it a nostalgic feel.

There’s no commercial sponsor attached, and the creator hosts the project on his personal pages. Contributions come through direct collaboration on the repository, along with suggestions and bug reports shared by players who want to see the project grow. Want to send your own crypto tip? Use Kivach.

Donate with Kivach Today!

Any public GitHub repository can receive support through Kivach, even if the maintainer never prepared anything in advance. Donating is simple. First, you’ll need to install an Obyte wallet and add any compatible token. Then, visit the Kivach site, pick the repository you’d like to help, choose an amount, and send it. The contribution stays safely stored in an Autonomous Agent until the maintainer proves the repo is theirs, so it’s worth letting them know the gift is waiting.

For creators, collecting those funds takes just a short setup. After installing the Obyte wallet, link it to your GitHub profile using the GitHub Attestation bot available in the Chat menu. Once the link is confirmed, set your preferred distribution and trigger the first payout to collect what’s been sent. It only requires a few clicks to unlock support that may already be accumulating.

Also, you can explore our previous episodes.

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