Arya is my first dog ever. And from the moment I got her, she has been both my joy and my biggest teacher.

She started having seizures when she was just six months old. For a long time there was no clear diagnosis. Just vet visits, worry, and trying to manage something we didn’t fully understand yet.

Here is the thing nobody tells you: when you have an elderly sick dog, it is awful, but in some way it feels expected. When your dog is young and something goes wrong, it hits completely differently. It is confusing and terrifying and completely overwhelming.

As Arya got closer to three years old, new blood tests pointed to her liver. Nothing was certain. Then came cataracts, unrelated but serious. During the pre-surgery blood tests, another blow: dangerously low platelets.

One vet looked at me and said, “she might die from this.”

That was a rough week.

After more waiting and more stress, they finally found the actual cause: an ehrlichia infection. She had probably carried it since before I adopted her, even though there were no ticks around us. I changed vets, she went through two months of heavy antibiotics, and her platelets came back. She had cataract surgery too, though her eyes turned out too small for lenses. So more drops, more medications, more treatments, more schedules to keep track of.

That is when I went a little mad

I was juggling vet instructions, pills, eye drops, antibiotics, refill dates, and dosing times all at once. I was terrified of missing something important during the most fragile period of her life. Phone alarms were not cutting it. Notes were scattered everywhere. I never felt confident I had actually given her everything she needed.

So I built Arya: Pill Reminder. First for myself. Because I needed one place that told me, clearly, what was due and what was done.

What this blog is for

Arya is doing well now. She is still my QA Chief, judging every product decision from her spot on the couch. And her story is what drives everything here.

This blog is for pet parents dealing with real health situations. Not generic advice, not stock photos of healthy labradors. Real topics: what to do when your dog refuses every trick you try to get a pill in them, how to stay organized when your pet is on multiple medications, what to watch for between vet visits, how to advocate for your animal when something feels off.

If you are in the middle of a scary diagnosis or just trying to stay on top of a daily medication routine, I hope you find something useful here.

If you want to try the app

Arya: Pill Reminder is free to start and available on iOS and Android.

It was built from the same frustration you are probably feeling right now. No tricks, no fake urgency. Just something that actually helps.