Facial Recognition Technology is Bringing Lost Pets Home
Losing a pet is an extremely scary and stressful experience and an estimated one in three pets will become lost during their lifetime. Being the finder of an animal is also very stressful as it can be unclear what to do next.
If your cat or dog becomes lost, take action immediately. Use Dakin’s online resources to help guide your course of action if they've gotten out.
The myth of the “dog/cat distribution system”
This term, made popular on social media, describes instances of people meeting a cat or dog unexpectedly outside and taking it as a sign that a new companion has walked into their lives to live happily ever after with them.
The reality is, nearly all dogs found outside have a family who desperately wants them back. Almost half of all pet cats are allowed outdoor access by the families they live with.
Taking in a found cat to live with you or bringing them to a shelter reduces the chance of reuniting them with their family down to 2% (if they are not microchipped with updated information).
In Massachusetts, by law, stray dogs must be held by the animal control authority in the city or town where they were found. Animal Control for the Cities of Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee is Thomas J. O'Connor. Animal control divisions in other cities and towns can be found through your town website or police department. Click here for a listing of Animal Control Officers in Massachusetts.
If your feline visitor is friendly and appears healthy and free of injuries, use this chart to determine if they need help. Print out a paper collar and follow the instructions. Chances are, you’ll get a call or text from the cat’s family!*
If you’ve found young kittens outside, call Dakin immediately at 413-781-4000.
Whether you’ve lost or found a cat or dog, upload their photo to the Petco Love Lost online database. It’s a free and easy way to search 200,000+ lost and found pets to help them return home.
By uploading a photo of the pet you found and reporting it in the Petco Love Lost system, you make that pet visible to families searching for their pet. Petco Love Lost uses facial recognition technology to match uploaded images of lost and found pets.
Recently in Springfield, Samantha’s cat Penny went missing, and she was losing hope in her desperate search for her companion. Samantha had uploaded a photo of Penny to Petco Love Lost, and the image matched a cat who’d just been found and brought to Dakin.
They were very happily reunited, thanks to this technology.