A smartphone app that aims to reunite owners with lost dogs goes a few steps beyond missing posters.
The Finding Rover app uses facial recognition to help the pup find its way home.
San Diegan Ryan Quinlivan hopes it helps him find his dog Coco. She has been missing for more than a week, and he has been doing everything he can to track her down.
“The dog I’ve had my entire adult life, so she means the world to me, and I would give anything to get her back," Quinlivan said.
In addition to stapling hundreds of posters around town and posting ads on Craigslist, he downloaded Finding Rover.
Here’s how it works: A pet parent can download the free tool, take a picture of their dog and upload it to the app, adding his or her ZIP code. If that pooch runs off, the owner can check the interactive map that shows where dogs have been found and when.
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Someone who spots a lost dog can snap a picture and add it to Finding Rover, and the app will run it through the facial recognition system. If the photo matches up with that of a missing pet, the app will send a notification to the finder with information on how to get a hold of the owner. Users will also get a mobile alert every time a dog is lost or found within 10 miles.
For those who may want to plan some doggy dates, Finding Rover also acts as a social network to connect and share dog news.
San Diego is one of the app's biggest markets. In fact, the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services was the first animal sheltering organization to partner with Finding Rover.
According to Animal Services Deputy Director Daniel DeSousa, every dog that comes into the county's shelters is photographed and uploaded into the app. In July, Animal Services reunited its first pet with its owner with the tool's help.
Right now, the app is available only on iOS phones in the iTunes store, but developers hope to release an Android app this year.
More than 10 million pets go missing every year, according to the Humane Society.
If you believe you have found Coco, you can contact Quinlivan at 619-721-4008 or 719-757-9829. He is offering a $5,000 reward.
“It’s nothing in comparison to what I feel about the dog,” he said.
