Mashi and the search for a simpler way to adopt a pet
Mashi asks prospective pet owners about their household, preferred animal and plans for care before suggesting a match. The adoption service is designed for people looking for a pet and the rescue organizations seeking homes for animals. The model described by MIT addresses a practical tension: adopters may encounter separate applications at different shelters, while each organization needs information about a suitable home. A shared starting point could make that search less repetitive without discarding the questions that matter to rescues.
A starting point for adopters
Mashi’s website says it serves pets and people in Southern California and can make recommendations elsewhere. Its adoption form asks about lifestyle, housing, pet preferences and care plans; its homepage displays pet listings.
That form gives Mashi a way to gather information relevant to both sides of a match. It does not by itself establish that applications are reused across multiple organizations.
Rescue experience meets a fragmented process
The business grew out of a collaboration between animal-rescue veterans Patty Isaias and Petra Janney. Mashi says Isaias founded Adoptame Ecuador and Janney started Amelia Air, which transported pets between shelters. Their earlier rescue work informed Mashi’s approach to adoption.
MIT’s description of its 2024 delta v cohort presented Mashi’s model as a common application and matching process based on shelter requirements, animal needs and adopter preferences. That historical description does not establish whether the algorithm or a shared application is operating today.