Jordan Clark believes that data doesn’t lie, it tells a story — and that’s especially true when it comes to his dog. Riou is a 13-week-old Sheprador: part German shepherd, part Labrador retriever. Clark lives with PTSD, and Riou is his social and emotional support animal.

A data acquisition specialist at Affectiva who frequently attends Khoury College speaker series, Clark has taken his professional interest in systems and data and given it a personal twist by equipping Riou’s collar with a health informatics tool called Whistle, which lets him track things like how much sleep Riou’s getting and when he goes for a walk.

The health data helps Clark take better care of his dog, and he says that it helps him take better care of himself too; he is more accountable, goes out for more walks, and has more positive interactions with strangers that boost his mood.

“We are on a 17 or 18-day streak of hitting his activity goal every day, and I take pride in that,” said Clark. “It’s really about behavioral change, because I couldn’t tell you the last time I had my own 17 day streak of hitting my own goals.”

Clark, also a student in Northeastern’s MS in Urban Planning & Policy program, hopes that his experiences collecting data with Riou can help personal health data become more widespread and accessible for both people and their dogs.

“It’s normalizing technology and increasing people’s data literacy,” said Clark. “If you don’t have access to (data)…you’re missing out on this opportunity to participate in an evolving industry, and shape it.”