My capstone project for the March 2026 Austin Community College Software Development Bootcamp.
🔗 Live site: dogdex.live
DogDex is a mobile-first web application for dog lovers who want to discover, track, and learn about dog breeds they encounter in real life. Inspired by bird-watching and the beloved Pokédex concept, DogDex lets users browse a complete encyclopedia of recognized dog breeds, check off the ones they've spotted in the wild, and log each sighting with a photo, location, and personal notes. A Breed of the Day feature reveals a new breed on the home screen every morning, giving users a daily reason to open the app and learn something new.
DogDex turns every walk, dog park visit, or trip to the neighborhood into an opportunity for discovery and connection with fellow dog lovers — making it equal parts hobby tracker, educational tool, and collection game.
Home Page after signing in
Spotted dogs are saved in your Dog Collection
- A complete, searchable list of worldwide recognized dog breeds with names, photos, origin country, and key traits
- A "Breed of the Day" displayed on the home screen
- A breed detail page showing an "about" section with info like: lifespan, weight and height range in imperial, temperament, and origin information
- A personal dog collection log where users can attach a photo, location, date, and notes to each spotted dog
- A checkmark system allowing users to mark breeds as "spotted"
- Filter options on the breed list to toggle between All, Spotted, and Not Yet Spotted
- Secure user authentication, including Google sign-in
Frontend: React, Vite, React Router, Clerk (auth)
Backend: Node.js, Express, Mongoose
Database: MongoDB Atlas
Other services: Clerk (authentication), Cloudinary (image uploads), TheDogAPI (breed data source)
| Piece | Hosted on |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Netlify |
| Backend / API | Render |
| Database | MongoDB Atlas |
| Auth | Clerk (production instance) |
| Domain | Custom domain via Namecheap, routed to Netlify (frontend) and a subdomain to Render (API) |
- Gamification with a social media element
- Ability to take photos in-app
- AI-powered dog breed identification
- Partnerships with local animal shelters advocating for dogs to get adopted
- A fully developed native mobile app version