April 21, 2016
Face-recognition technology comes to Animal Shelter
Finding Rover app uses dog’s features to ID owner
MURPHY (April 21, 2016) Families dealing with a lost pet now have a high-tech option for locating the wayward dog that goes far beyond the paper posters and homemade flyers, says Murphy Police Services Manager Kim Parker.
“You might say that technology has gone to the dogs,” she said. “A new app called Finding Rover uses the latest in facial recognition software to identify lost dogs and reunite them with their owners.”
The Murphy Animal Shelter is joining shelters in the local area in registering with Finding Rover and placing not only stray or missing dogs on the app, but also photos of adoptable animals. The site goes live on Tuesday, April 26.
“It’s the next step in pet location and retrieval,” she said. “If a dog is registered on the site, and we pick it up, we can immediately identify the owner and get word to them that we have their pet.”
The app, available for home computers (www.findingrover.com) or mobile devices (Finding Rover), is free and is available for iPhone or Android devices. Owners take a photo with a smart phone or notebook and fill out the information requested. The app’s software takes precise data from the pet’s face and logs it into their database. When that specific pet is reported missing, an alert is sent to area shelters as well as registered users within a 10-mile radius.
If the pet is picked up and placed in the shelter, shelter operators will record the pet’s face and conduct an online search on the app. When a match is made, the owner in immediately notified. Individuals who pick up a stray in their neighborhood can also use the identification
software to locate the owner.
In addition, Murphy Animal Services is adding adoptable dogs onto the site, allowing anyone who logs in to the app to view the pets looking for permanent families.
In addition to Murphy, Lewisville, The Colony and Little Elm Animal Shelters are either active on the app’s site or will be soon.
“We know how devastating it is to have a pet get lost,” said Parker. “Knowing that we can use technology and social media to locate and retrieve them is a real source of comfort.”
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