Pet Handoff · Ching An Yu

Overview

Project Summary

Pet Handoff is a shared pet care coordination system designed for couples or roommates who share responsibility for a dog or cat. The system turns everyday care actions into receipt-like confirmations that clearly show who completed a task and when it was done. Each action creates a simple record with a timestamp, optional notes, and photo proof.

Mission

Reduce confusion and conflict in shared pet care by providing clear, traceable handoffs between caregivers.

Core System

Receipt-like handoff cards with timestamps, optional notes, and photo proof. Inspired by Apple Wallet transaction records.

Outcome

High-fidelity proof of concept covering feeding, medication, and walk handoff flows with shared history and task alerts.

The Problem

Why does shared pet care break down?

Shared pet care breaks down when schedules change. Tasks get missed or doubled because nobody knows what's already been done. Texts and memory work fine until they don't. There's no record to fall back on when something gets confused.

37%

of unmarried couples argue about household chores

87%

of pet owners say technology enhances their pet care

Sources: YouGov (Feb 2026), couples and household chores. Today's Veterinary Business pet technology survey (Dec 2024).

1

Missed medication tasks create real health risks. Double-dosing or skipping a dose can seriously harm a pet.

2

"Did you do it?" conversations cause daily tension in shared households, turning routine care into a source of conflict.

3

Without a visible handoff history, task ownership stays unclear and caregivers can't trust that shared routines are working.

"How might we help co-caregivers avoid missed or duplicated pet care tasks through clear, traceable handoffs?"

Research

How I approached the problem

Goal

Understand why shared pet care creates friction and what caregivers actually need to feel confident about task completion

User Interview Insights

Interviews with participants who share pet care revealed three consistent patterns across households.

0%

often asked "Did you already feed/walk them?" to avoid repeating tasks

0%

accidentally repeated tasks because they were unsure if someone else had done it

0%

wanted a simple way to confirm task completion and see a shared care history

Competitive Landscape

Existing apps handle reminders well. None of them handle the handoff: telling the next person what already happened.

PetDesk

Tool Competitor

Strong for pet health tracking and appointment reminders.

Gap: Not designed for shared caregiver handoffs that clearly show who completed a care task and when.

Text Messages

Behavior Competitor

Familiar and immediately accessible for every household.

Gap: Messages are scattered, easy to miss, and don't create a reliable scannable history of care.

Expert Consultation

Eve Rodsky

Shared Responsibility & Mental Load

Rodsky's Fair Play framework shows that conflict often grows when responsibilities are invisible and tracked mentally instead of visibly. In shared caregiving, people repeat the same "Did you do it?" conversation because task ownership is unclear.

→ Shaped Pet Handoff's shared history and receipt-like handoff cards, helping caregivers quickly verify completed tasks instead of relying on memory.

James Clear

Habit Formation & Consistency

Clear argues that routines are easier to maintain when actions are clear, simple, and low-friction. If a task feels unclear or takes too many steps to confirm, people are more likely to delay it or assume someone else already did it.

→ Shaped Pet Handoff's one-tap confirmation flow and optional note/photo proof, making routine care faster to log while keeping the interaction simple.

Key Insights

The problem is not a lack of reminders. It's a lack of handoff clarity and visible confirmation.

Caregivers rely on texts and memory, which are scattered and create repeated "Did you do it?" conversations.

A simple, shared record with timestamps builds trust and reduces task duplication or missed care.

User Persona

Amy L.

28 · San Francisco · Primary Persona

"Did you already feed him? Was the dog walked yet?"

Primary Goal

Quickly confirm whether a task has been done without texting her partner.

Who She Is

Lives with her partner and their two-year-old dog. Both work busy schedules and split care throughout the day.

Main Frustrations

Routines shift often
Relies on texts and memory
Repeated tasks create tension

Product Needs

Shared, scannable record
One-tap logging
Alerts for missed tasks

Positioning

Unique Positioning

Research kept pointing to the same thing: people didn't need another reminder app. They needed a shared record. Pet Handoff gives caregivers a receipt-like log of who did what and when, so there's always something concrete to check.

Primary Audience

Couples or roommates who co-care for a dog or cat. Shared household, busy or changing schedules. Need clear handoffs to avoid missed or duplicated care tasks.

Secondary Audience

Families with multiple caregivers (partner, kids, roommates). Pet sitters and dog walkers who need clear routines and notes from owners.

Target User

Couples or roommates who co-care for a dog or cat

Core Need

Clear handoff so tasks aren't missed or duplicated

Product Category

Collaborative pet care handoff and accountability app with shared history

Key Benefit

Clear, traceable care records (who / what / when / next) that reduce mistakes and conflict

Differentiation

Receipt-like confirmations with timestamps, plus optional notes and photo proof

Success Metric

Fewer missed or duplicated tasks per week

Solution

Three Core Task Flows

Three flows cover the most common and highest-risk care tasks: feeding, medication, and walks. Each one creates a clear record both caregivers can check.

Task Flow 01 · Check Feeding Status + Log Feeding Handoff

Task Flow 02 · Log Medication Handoff

Task Flow 03 · Review Missing Walk Alert

Task Flow 01

Check Feeding Status + Log Feeding Handoff

Home Screen

Amy opens the app and sees today's tasks and the latest handoff from Sam right on the home screen.

Latest Handoff

She taps the handoff card to see the full receipt: task, timestamp, who completed it, and what they noted.

Shared History

The shared history shows every feeding entry by both caregivers, in order. A full picture at a glance.

Logged Confirmation

After logging, Amy gets a receipt-style confirmation with all the details saved.

Feeding Detail

The feeding detail page stores task, time, caregiver, amount, and a full note. Photo proof can be attached.

Task Flow 02

Log Medication Handoff

Home Screen

Amy sees medication is scheduled for today. The latest handoff shows feeding was already done by Sam.

Medication History

She checks the medication history to confirm it hasn't been given yet today.

Log Medication

Amy fills in the medication name, dose, time, and caregiver to create a clear handoff record.

History Updated

The new entry appears at the top with a "NEW" badge so Sam can see it's been handled.

Home Updated

Back on the home screen, the medication task now has a checkmark and shows Amy's update as the latest handoff.

Task Flow 03

Review Missing Walk Alert

Home Screen

Amy notices a "View Task Alert" next to the walk task. Something needs attention.

Task Alert

The app flags an incomplete task: the morning walk was scheduled but never logged.

Log Walk

Amy logs the walk with time, date, and her name to close out the missing record.

All Clear

All tasks now have checkmarks. The home screen shows a complete picture of today's care.

Design

Visual Direction

Warm, grounded dark UI with amber accents. Designed to feel trustworthy, calm, and easy to scan.

Colours

#2D1E0F

Primary Text

Dark Brown

#7A6248

Secondary Text

Medium Brown

#C17A54

Accent

Terracotta

#E0D6C7

Border

Light Beige

#FBF7F0

Page Background

Warm Cream

#E8D4B0

Card Background

Warm Tan

#EB4C3C

Alert / Error

Red

Typography

DM Serif Display — Display / App Title — 30px Pet Handoff

DM Serif Display — Feature Heading — 22px Feeding

DM Serif Display — Card Heading — 17px Feeding

Nunito Bold — Section Header — 20px Latest Handoff

Nunito Bold — Body Emphasis — 15px Walk logged successfully

Nunito SemiBold — Label — 13px Care team: Amy + Sam

Nunito Regular — Body — 13px Golden Retriever • 3 years old

Nunito Regular — Detail — 12px 6:00 PM · Today 8:00 AM

Testing

What I learned from prototype testing

I ran paper prototype tests with testers on task clarity, alert visibility, flow logic, and shared history usability. Two issues emerged that required redesign before the final proof of concept.

Task Flow 02 · Medication UI

Users were confused by the earlier medication screen because a highlighted task state looked like the main entry point, causing them to tap the wrong element.

Fix: Redesigned the home screen interaction to clarify task actions and remove the misleading highlighted medication entry state.

Before

After

Task Flow 03 · Walk Alert Entry

Users couldn't find the missing walk alert flow. The path from the home screen to the alert wasn't obvious.

Fix: Added an explicit "View Task Alert" entry point directly on the Home screen walk task row.

Before

After

Outcome

Final Impact

"I stopped asking 'did you feed her?' I could just check."

0

core task flows (feeding, medication, and walk) fully designed and tested

0

critical UX issues found and resolved through prototype testing

0%

of testers said the handoff record made them feel more confident about shared care

Tester 01 · Feeding Flow

"I finally know what's been done without having to text anyone. The record is just there."

Tester 02 · Medication Flow

"The timestamp makes me feel safe about medication. I know exactly who gave it and when."

Tester 03 · Walk Alert

"The alert made it obvious what was missing. I didn't have to guess or ask. I just fixed it."

Reflection

What I Learned

Making invisible care visible

Trust in shared routines doesn't come from reminders. It comes from being able to see what actually happened. Designing around a visible log changed how I think about accountability in everyday products. You're not building surveillance; you're giving people a reference point so they don't have to keep track in their head.

What I would explore next

If I continued this project, I would explore push notifications for missed task alerts, multi-pet support for households with more than one animal, and how the system could extend to pet sitters or dog walkers who need clear handoff notes from owners before a visit.