Humane Society Goes High Tech

By Robert Albrecht

Sedona AZ (May 14, 2020) – Have you ever been walking through a supermarket or sitting in a coffee shop and noticed a bulletin board tacked full of “Lost Pets” flyers? You think to yourself, “There has got to be a better way to reunite these lost animals with their owners”.

There is, and it is called “Finding Rover”; a free service that identifies Lost and Found dogs and cats in real-time using highly advanced facial recognition technology accessible through their website www.findingrover.com.

As part of our Community Enrichment Plan for 2020, the Humane Society of Sedona has joined a national network of shelters and rescue groups already using this program and we are introducing it to the Sedona and surrounding area on Monday, May 11, 2020.

This is how it works: 

“Finding Rover” uses facial recognition technology to help reunite lost dogs and cats with their families, allowing anyone with computer access to begin this process!

If someone FINDS a stray dog or cat, we will help them as we already do but also encourage them to report the pet on “Finding Rover” website as FOUND. All they need to do is snap a picture with a camera or their phone and upload it to www.findingrover.com. From there, the magic of “Finding Rover” will match the photo with photos of pets that have been reported missing.

For those worried families that have LOST a dog or cat, we will continue to provide all of our resources we currently do, plus provide this new search tool. If they have not previously registered for free on the “Finding Rover” website, they can upload their pet’s picture and it will search FOUND reports which will include animals in our care. Our partnership with “Finding Rover” automatically updates all of our shelter’s animals directly on our “Finding Rover” page and the search radius begins within a 200 mile radius but can be expanded to include over 3,000 miles, so if your pet was lost on vacation miles or even states away, we are providing an expanding search tool to help reunite you with your pet.
 
We will encourage the public who reclaim their pets or adopt from us to register on “Finding Rover” to keep their pet protected in the future! If you ask why should I use this service, here are five quick reasons: 

1. It is easy! Anyone with a smartphone or computer can upload a lost or found dog or cat instantly.
2. It is FREE! Although millions of dollars have been invested into this technology, it does not cost you a penny.
3. It helps find pets homes! It is not just about helping lost pets. Our HSS dogs and cats that are available for adoption will also be on “Finding Rover”.
4. It is not just for dogs. Dogs are not the only pets that get out. “Finding Rover” is optimized to work for our feline friends as well.
5. It saves lives! At our shelter, our number one goal is to keep pets safe before they even reach our doors. Using this tool, we can all help keep pets safe in their home.

We highly encourage everyone to register with a personal “Finding Rover” account so we can keep our entire community safe. This first step starts with all of us. Do not wait for your pet to go missing– be proactive and create an account for your pet today. All pets adopted from the Humane Society of Sedona going forward will have this service already set up in “Finding Rover”. All you need to do upon adoption is to change the email address to yours and your pet is safely registered if something were to happen.

Again, all you need to do is visit https://findingrover.com/registermypet

1. Upload your pet’s picture (Mug shot with full head, both eyes and mouth showing)
2. Enter your pet’s name, age, and breed and any microchip/tag information
3. Enter your name, email address, and zip code

Together we can help make our community even safer for all our pets. By doing our small part, it will make a big difference in the lives of all the animals in Sedona and the surrounding areas. Share information on “Finding Rover” with your family and friends and help us get everyone on board to start saving more lives. The more animals that can make it back home before ever entering our doors, the less stress and fear they and their families will face and the more room we will have to assist the truly homeless animals. We need your support with this program and look forward to hearing your success stories using this new resource.

To learn more about this powerful facial recognition program “Finding Rover” for finding lost dogs or cats and how to get started with your pets for free, visit https://findingrover.com/registermypet or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact us at (928) 282-4679. Additional information will be on our website at https://www.humanesocietyofsedona.org.