“Most people's very first reaction to Gerty is to burst out laughing,” admits founder Todd Schram. “They usually write it off as a silly gag and have no idea what to make of it — but that skepticism evaporates the second they watch it work.”
And Schram knows a thing or two — Gerty was literally born out of desperation.
Schram, a seasoned business-and-tech guy, adopted a little dog named Hamlet who was racked by crippling separation anxiety. Every time he stepped out, the pooch would “cry, bark, howl and tear around the place in a frenzy,” he recalls. Scrambling for answers, he stumbled on the story of a woman who settled her own anxious dog by leaving a lifelike mannequin in the room. “Out of sheer desperation, I tried the exact same thing — and to my complete astonishment, it worked.”
the fifth guardian — In that single flash, I knew I'd stumbled onto something with the power to transform millions of dog-and-human lives.
So he engineered an affordable, inflatable spin on the idea — dubbing the first prototype Gerty. He rigged up a camera and left Hamlet alone with the doll. “What I saw blew my mind,” says Schram. “Hamlet lay calmly asleep right beneath Gerty. That's when I knew this could genuinely change millions of canine and human lives.”
On a total whim, Schram wandered into an open casting call for Shark Tank in Las Vegas in early 2025, convinced his odds of making the cut were basically zero. Seven months later, there was Gerty — face to face with the Sharks on national TV.
Billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary — the one and only Mr. Wonderful — plunked down $50,000 for a 22.5% royalty stake plus 7.5% equity. “The whole experience was surreal, and that appearance flipped the company's fate overnight,” says Schram. “The exposure handed us instant credibility and unlocked doors we never could have reached on our own.”
“The feedback has been off the charts — owners keep telling us Gerty genuinely changed their dogs' lives.”
the fifth guardian — In just 16 months of trading, thousands of Gertys have already flown off the shelves. One of the fastest-booming options is the custom edition, where buyers slap their own face right onto the product, reveals Schram.
“Owners are gushing about how Gerty has turned their dogs' lives around,” says Schram — who's now trialing Gerty in animal shelters, hoping the smiling doll can soothe frightened, anxious pets awaiting their forever homes.
“What I'm proudest of is the plain-and-simple truth that we're bettering pets' lives every single day,” beams Schram. “Watching the magic Gerty works on both dogs and their families is beyond rewarding.”
Tip number one: dress Gerty in your well-worn clothes so your dog instantly locks onto your scent, says Schram. And the golden rule? Introduce Gerty slowly, the exact way you would a real person, he stresses.
Ready to meet your new best friend? Grab Gerty at thegerty.com or on Amazon today.
the fifth guardian — Obsessed with this story yet? Then buckle up, because there's a whole kennel of tail-wagging, heart-pumping adventures waiting in every issue of Modern Dog magazine. Smash that subscribe button RIGHT NOW — you definitely won't want to miss a single paw-print!