Dr. David "Spottacus" Benaron - furry known for work foundational to smartwatch heartrate monitors - passes away
News of the passing of Doctor David “Spottacus” Benaron on Friday Friday July 18th, 2025 was shared and confirmed on Saturday. This doctor with a cheetah fursona was well known in the fandom for their work that enabled the capacity of smart watches to monitor heart rates. PC Mag’s Will Greenwald did a piece on the doctor on his technical and furry lives in 2022. This article had become highly shared as a focal point of people holding successful careers within furry fandom spaces.
The spotted doctor did not shy away from his hobby and the influences it had in his career successes. He gave a presentation at Berkeley called Furries, Neurodivergence and STEM: Finding Your Path From Zero to One to One Billion, which can be viewed on YouTube.
He was a prolific fursuiter that had multiple suits to his name. Other characters played by the doctor included a California sabretooth by the name of Toofs, and lion named Dandy, an Ocelot named Ozzie. More information and photos of these can be found on his WikiFur page.
About the author
Sonious (Tantroo McNally) — read stories — contact (login required)a project coordinator and Kangaroo from CheektRoowaga, NY, interested in video games, current events, politics, writing and finance
Comments
Man one of the best Doc around...glad to have met him.
I never got to meet him. But his work was legendary. So was he. He was also a fellow Therian, and he will be missed.
Spottacus won last year's Good Furry Award for his Green Light Heart Rate Monitor https://www.unclebearpublishing.com/2024-gfa-winners.html#/ Very sad that he died so young, so unexpectedly. A great loss for the fandom :(
Kevin Hile, Publisher, Uncle Bear Publishing
I don’t believe I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting Spottacus but I do remember enjoying pictures of his fursuits for years. Some legendary accomplishments under his belt, he’ll be sorely missed. RIP.
This is truly tragic. I worked for many years with David on various projects. Always upbeat. A great scientist and friend. If there is a funeral I would like to attend.
John Brock-Utne, MA ( Fine Arts) MD, PhD, FCMSA Professor Emeritus, Stanford University.
I didn't know him personally but used to run into him frequently at concerts around the Bay Area - Skinny Puppy and VNV Nation stick out in my mind. I'll miss seeing him dancing at shows.
I'm still aghast, hoping it was a sick joke...
I was fortunate to meet and profile him for "Furry Planet." (The profile is on pg 123). The guy was a freakin' genius, not to mention an out and (very!) proud furry. I am going to miss him, very very much.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/your-smartwatchs-heart-rate-monitor-was-developed-by-...
- Joe
Four major Furries dead in the past month alone... :-(
What a sad loss for the fandom and for mankind. May he rest easy knowing he helped millions.
Has there been any news about the cause of death? Spotti was only in his mid 60s and full of energy.
- Joe
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