As an only child, I wanted a dog as my symbolic sibling. As the wave of pandemic puppies began, my mom and I decided to adopt our first pet. At first, my dad glared at us in disbelief and claimed that we will regret this. But, our 8-week-old Goldendoodle proved him otherwise. Cosmo’s always with me, toy in mouth and tail wagging. He loves his friends at the park, people when he’s out, but most importantly, he enjoys playing with toys. After a few weeks, I observed a pattern with his toys. I repeatedly purchased $20 dog toys just for his voracious personality to tear them apart. I was frustrated with this cycle of buying messy and unengaging toys, so we created TuffToy.

The most recent addition to my family was Dash, a golden labrador retriever. We could never give him plush toys because within a matter of seconds, there would be cotton stuffing all over the house as he tore it all apart. My parents and I were forced to constantly buy him more toys. However, when he turned 8, he stopped playing with his toys completely. Little did we know, Dash was suffering from cancer for the second time, and on October 13, 2020, I lost my best friend. I started TuffToy to make dog toys more durable, valuable, and customizable than ever before. I know Dash would have loved his very own TuffToy and I wish he could see the brand we are building today.

Growing up in India, my father adopted a stray dachshund and made countless memories with him. After moving to America, he wanted to bring a dog into our family and after much convincing, my mom finally gave in and we brought Axl home. Despite being 6 years old, Axl is a ball of energy. We go on mini adventures all the time – exploring the neighborhood, meeting people, and grabbing a pup cup. Since he arrived, his favorite pastime was to chew up and dismantle toys. We soon became frustrated with the lack of feasible options on the market as they always tore too often and left a mess. I created TuffToy to solve these issues and let Axl chew as much as his heart desires.