What Silicon Valley Buys to Spoil Its Pets

Penny Lane, a Boykin spaniel living in the East Bay, is a bolter. It comes naturally to her: The Boykin, which is the state dog of South Carolina, was bred to fetch game during a hunt.

“We live in the suburbs, so there’s some retrieving to be done, but not as much as one wishes,” said Penny’s owner, Allison Braley, a Bain Capital Ventures partner. “The concern is always, ‘Does she see a real animal and take off into the sunset?’” Especially since Braley’s home overlooks an area near Mount Diablo that’s full of coyotes.

Penny’s instinct to dash off led Braley to Tractive, a GPS tracking device designed for pets that alerts users’ phones if their dog or cat goes beyond a preset boundary. It also monitors sleep and exercise. It’s one of many pet tech devices that have launched in recent years, acting as a sort of Garmin or Whoop for furry friends. The appeal is pretty straightforward for pet owners who are already obsessed with their own step counts and sleep scores: Why not monitor their animals’ health, too?