Facial Recognition Apps for Lost Dogs

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It's a terrifying thing to realize that your dog is missing. Was he hit by a car? Stolen? Picked up and adopted by someone else? Taken to a shelter where he risks being put to sleep?

The first and best thing that you can do to ensure that your dog will be returned to you if he's lost is make sure that he is always wearing a collar and ID Tags with your up-to-date contact information on them. But collars can be lost, removed, and broken, so technology has produced some new ways to help find a lost dog, as well.

Microchipping Your Dog

A microchip is a tiny implantable device encoded with a special series of letters and numbers unique to your individual dog. If your dog is lost and taken to a facility with a microchip scanner, his chip number can be called into the microchip registry that keeps your contact information. Find out more in "Microchipping Dogs."

Facial Recognition Software

There's no denying that it's the age of cellular phones, tablets, and laptops, and applications (apps) for those devices abound. There are apps for everything, and they can make our lives easier, entertain us, and sometimes just pass the time.

Now, there are some new apps available that can save canine lives. They are designed to help when you lose your dog. The most prominent of these is Finding Rover. The app works like this: you take a picture of your dog's face and upload it to Finding Rover's database, along with your current contact information. If a participating shelter, veterinary office, or individual finds your dog, they can snap a photo and upload it to Finding Rover. The software makes the match, and your dog can be returned to you right away.

Participation in Facial Recognition Technology

Of course, canine facial recognition apps work best when as many groups, organizations, and individuals as possible participate. Getting the word out about this new technology is critical. That way, more people will upload their dogs' pictures and think to snap a photo when they find a lost dog. This is the best way to ensure that apps like Finding Rover can do the most good for dogs that are lost and those looking for them. Finding Rover is free to use for both individuals and organizations.

You can help by sharing your knowledge of this technology with your friends, veterinarian's office, and any shelters that are in your area.

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