I’ve faced a number of tough choices in my life, but taking away my mother’s dog was among the most difficult. Nancy was always eccentric, but in 2011 her quirky charm began to dwindle away. What was originally diagnosed as mild cognitive impairment steadily progressed to Alzheimer’s dementia. My mother lost her ability to care for herself, but at the same time succeeded in training her golden doodle puppy “Golden Bear” to be aggressive towards her caregiver. Golden Bear was my mother’s best friend; losing her contributed to her severe loneliness and depression.

What I didn’t realize at the time is my mother’s story is not unique. Millions of people facing health adversities cannot safely or practically care for a live animal companion.

I launched Tombot in 2017 to serve these people.