Marisa Hoskins | Paws Abroad Inc
In This Episode
In this episode of the Veterinary Innovation Podcast, Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak speak with Marisa Hoskins, a two-time founder in the pet industry and CEO of Paws Abroad Inc., a technology platform designed to simplify international pet travel.
Marisa shares how her own frustrating experience moving pets internationally—a journey that later inspired her children’s book The Adventures of Harley and Kalinda: Harley and Kalinda Go to Thailand—led her to uncover a much bigger issue: the lack of standardized, accessible systems for managing travel compliance. What started as a consumer problem quickly revealed itself as a major operational challenge for veterinary clinics as well.
That challenge became the foundation for Paws Abroad.
In this conversation, Marisa explains how her team is building a system that standardizes pet travel requirements into structured workflows, helping reduce the administrative burden on veterinary teams while giving pet owners clearer direction. She shares how the platform combines personalized travel planning, document management, route intelligence, and concierge support to make an overwhelming process more manageable.
The episode also explores a broader issue that will resonate with many veterinary professionals: when compliance workflows are unclear, clinics often absorb the stress. From health certificates to vaccination records to small documentation errors that can derail an entire trip, international pet travel is one of those services that can consume a surprising amount of team time. Marisa discusses where those breakdowns happen, how better infrastructure can support clinics, and why this area is ready for innovation.
Learn more about Paws Abroad Inc.
Get free early access to the Pawsabroad Vet Portal.
Marisa recommends “The Forever Dog: Surprising New Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier, and Longer” by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker for its insights into proactive pet health and nutrition.
Topics Discussed:
- Why international pet travel is still so fragmented and stressful
- Where technology fits into travel certificates, documentation, and route planning
- What the future of clinic involvement in pet travel might look like