The signs were there.
We just didn't know what to look for.
Hi, I'm Ayden. I started InsightScoop after losing Ludo — my Border Collie–Lab mix I got as a puppy in 2016 — to liver cancer that was growing silently for months. By the time the symptoms showed, it was already too late. I couldn't shake the question: what if we'd seen the signs earlier?
Help pet parents notice health changes earlier, reduce preventable emergencies, and keep yards cleaner — without adding stress.
Ludo had been to the vet not long before. He wasn't showing obvious symptoms — or so we thought.
That's what made the diagnosis so devastating. Looking back, there were signs. He was drinking more than normal. Eating grass. Chewing on his feet. But the biggest one was his stool — pale, almost yellowish-grey. At the time I brushed it off. I had no idea what that color change could mean.
I later learned that pale or clay-colored stool can indicate liver or bile duct problems. The masses we found were on his liver.
“If I'd known what to look for, we might have caught it earlier. That question — would we have had more time? — became the foundation of InsightScoop.”
Not just for us, but for every pet parent who never wants to hear “it's too late.” So I started reading. Every veterinary paper I could find on stool composition, color shifts, gut signals. It turns out the body is quietly telling on itself, every day, in the most ignored corner of the yard.
Two months after losing Ludo, InsightScoop went live in the Twin Cities. The same month, an Australian Shepherd named Kiara joined our family. The work and the healing happened in parallel. They still do.
What we learned from the research
- Blood streaks, mucus, or pale stool can surface before outward symptoms.
- Pale, yellowish, or clay-colored stool can signal liver or bile duct issues.
- White fragments can signal worms long before they cause a crisis.
- Yard hazards and hidden parasites often show up first in the poop.
- Gut changes are often the earliest clue that something is off.
How InsightScoop came to be
From personal loss to a platform helping pet parents in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Ludo joins at 8 weeks
Ayden gets Ludo as a puppy — a Border Collie–Lab mix who would become the heart of the family and, later, the reason InsightScoop exists.
Pixel joins the family
Ayden adopts Pixel, a Border Collie rescue. Years of backyard scooping for two dogs begins — quietly forming the dataset that would become the 3C method.
Losing Ludo
Ludo passes away at 9. Looking back, there were stool changes weeks before symptoms appeared. The question haunts: What if we'd caught it earlier?
Grief becomes purpose
Unable to let go of that question, Ayden builds the first prototype on nights and weekends. Research into the 3 C's — Color, Consistency, Content — begins in earnest.
InsightScoop launches · Kiara joins
InsightScoop goes live in the Twin Cities — two months from loss to launch. The same month, Kiara, an Australian Shepherd, joins the family. Healing and building, side by side.
Built on three quiet beliefs.
Not slogans — operating principles. They show up in every decision we make, from how we train scoopers to what we'll never put in your inbox.
Protect their healthspan.
We focus on early signals and gentle nudges so pet parents can act sooner, not later. More good years. Fewer panicked vet runs.
Respectful, human care.
Clear guidance, not alarmism. Wellness data that's private, portable, and easy to share with your vet — never sold, never sensationalized.
Cleaner yards, lighter footprint.
We reduce waste where we can and promote disposal that protects soil, water, and the Mississippi we all share. The yard is the start, not the end.
InsightScoop doesn't diagnose. We help you spot patterns so you can decide when to watch, monitor, or call your vet.
The dog who started it all.
Goofy, clumsy, brilliant. The dog who never missed a meal — until that one morning. His story is why InsightScoop exists. Every scan, every note, every gentle reminder is built so fewer families are caught off guard.
Adopt, don't shop — especially seniors
Bringing Kiara home reminded us that every dog deserves a soft place to land. Senior dogs are the most overlooked in shelters — often through no fault of their own. They're calmer, already house-trained, and know exactly what love means when they finally get it.
If you have room in your life, consider giving a senior their golden years. They'll give you theirs.
Turn “I had no idea” into “I saw it early.”
That's the whole project. A clean yard, a calmer mind, and a wellness trail you can trust.
We also learned how much pet waste ends up in landfills, how much plastic gets used for bags, how methane builds up, and how runoff affects the Mississippi and our Minnesota lakes. Cleaner yards and smarter disposal are part of the same promise.
We're not trying to replace your vet. We're trying to give you — and them — a longer paper trail of small, accurate observations. The kind no one human can keep up with on their own. The kind that turns “she's been off this week” into a chart with three weeks of data.
Ludo deserved that. Yours does too.
Built by pet parents, for pet parents.
We're small but growing. Every feature comes from a real need — usually something we wished we'd had ourselves.
Ayden Dunham
SaaS professional by day, self-taught builder by night. Started InsightScoop after years of pet parenthood — and one heartbreaking lesson — showed him how much health data hides in plain sight.
Liane
The heart behind the pack. Liane keeps Pixel and Kiara thriving and pushes us to build the kind of health tools every pet parent deserves — because she's the one who notices the small changes first.
Pixel
Border Collie rescue. Picky eater, tireless toy-chaser, and the reason we test every feature. His poop has been logged more than anyone's.
Kiara ("Kiki")
Adopted the same month InsightScoop launched. Kiki arrived just in time to help us test multi-dog tracking in the real world.
Every scan is a step toward catching what we missed with Ludo.
Start tracking your pet's health today. It's free, takes seconds, and could give you the early warning that changes everything.