San José State University Students Help Power the Future of Pet Health Technology

What happens when classroom learning meets real-world impact? For two San José State University students, it meant helping build a product that could change how millions of pet owners care for their animals.

For many pet owners, staying on top of health information is harder than it should be. Vet visits generate paperwork. Medications are tracked in notes apps or not at all. Photos, lab results, and observations live across phones, emails, and memory. When information is scattered, subtle changes are easy to miss. By the time a problem becomes obvious, it is often already serious.

That gap between good intentions and practical tracking is where technology can make a meaningful difference.

From left: Nolan Nagy, Stephanie Brooks, Nicole Witt, Professor Michael Ashley, Samuel Meier

At the center of this collaboration is Fido’s Bark, a pet health app that brings everything together, including vet visits, medications, vital health data, photos, and notes, turning scattered records into a clear, living picture of a pet’s health over time. The app also allows shared pet profiles, so family members, sitters, and caregivers can see updates in real time, helping prevent missed information and giving pet parents peace of mind.

While the app brought structure to pet health records, the next challenge was addressing one of the most overlooked aspects of everyday pet care: weight. Changes in weight can be early indicators of illness or chronic conditions, yet many pets are only weighed during infrequent vet visits. To help close that gap, the Fido’s Bark team began developing a connected smart pet scale designed for regular, at-home use.

Through the University Internship (UNVS 190) course led by Professor Michael Ashley, students Samuel Meier and Nolan Nagy joined the Fido’s Bark team to help develop its next smart device, a connected pet scale built for pet owners.

The student team played a critical role in bringing the scale’s electronics to life, integrating hardware and validating real-world performance. They helped to develop a scale that connects with the Fido’s Bark app via Bluetooth and captures weight as a critical health signal.

From left: Nolan Nagy, Samuel Meier

“This was real product development, not a classroom simulation,” said Stephanie Brooks, Co-founder of Fido’s Bark. “These students worked on technology that will soon be in homes, used by pet owners who deeply care about their pets’ health. That level of responsibility accelerates learning, and the students delivered.”

By syncing measurements directly into the app, the smart pet scale removes guesswork and makes long-term health trends visible at a glance, helping pet owners catch changes earlier and act sooner.

“At the end of the day, this work is about helping people take better care of the animals they love,” Brooks said. “Seeing students contribute to that kind of impact is incredibly meaningful.”

The Fido’s Bark app is available now on the Apple App Store at https://apps.apple.com/app/id6744088514

An Android version is coming soon. Learn more at https://www.fidosbark.com/android-app

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