16App developmentEveryday toolsPrototype
The household pet, a shared log for everyone at home
An iPhone and Android app where everyone at home can see at a glance whether the dog has eaten and been walked, who did it and when, with a vaccine record that exports as a PDF for the kennel and the vet.
Prototype works offline, 73 automated tests pass
The challenge
Two moments create the need: an argument at home about whether the dog has eaten, and a kennel or vet asking for the vaccine record right now. The long standing leader in the category had not been updated in more than three and a half years, and users complain about being locked out of their accounts and about the app failing exactly when they are at the vet. Many homes also mix iPhone and Android, and no competitor of proven size shares between the two.
What I did
- "Fed" and "Walked" in one tap, with who logged it and when, and a warning before a double feed: if someone fed the pet a short while ago, the app asks before logging it again.
- No account and no email. Open it, add a pet, start. I designed joining for a second person by code or QR, free for two people, across iPhone and Android.
- Set free and paid around those two moments. Free: one pet and two people at home, with "Fed" and "Walked". Paid: unlimited pets and people, a vaccine and document file, a PDF for kennel and vet, and reminders for vaccines, worming and flea treatment.
- Designed a kennel PDF that checks validity against the dates of the stay, showing which vaccine covers the whole stay and which one runs out halfway. The app gives no veterinary advice and has no medical defaults: you type in what's written in the record.
- Checked names before falling for one. Out of three candidates, Tailpass was ruled out because tailpass.app is already a live site for a pet health app.
The decision that made the difference
Everything is written to the phone first, and the server is a separate layer. Every entry is saved on the device immediately and works without a connection; sync between people at home sits on top. The first reason is the user: the moment you need the record is the moment you are standing at the vet, and that is exactly where an app that depends on signing in fails. The second is practical: the prototype could be built and tested without opening a paid server before the product had proved itself.
What AI did, and what stayed with me
- AI agents prepared what I needed to decide: research on the leader and the complaints about it, three full visual directions, name candidates with availability checks, a price recommendation, and a prototype with 73 automated tests.
The calls are mine, and some are still open on purpose: I set the model from the start, what is free and what is paid, around the two moments when the app is needed. The visual direction, the name and the price are waiting on my decision, which is why this case shows them as recommendations.
Outcome
- A prototype that works offline. Tested in a phone sized browser: first run, "Fed", the double feed question, and the paywall when adding a second pet.
- 73 automated tests pass.
- Three visual directions ready to choose from: Paper Passport, Split Signal and Collar Tag. Each has the Today screen in light, dark and Hebrew, the vaccine file, the kennel PDF and an icon.
- Recommended price: $4.99 one time at launch, no yearly plan. Awaiting a decision.