VCA Animal Hospitals and spcaLA unveiled a new partnership with Finding Rover that has the ability to help reunite more lost dogs with their family by using CSI techniques usually reserved for humans. Finding Rover’s innovative facial recognition for pets can be used on a smartphone through the app or on the web and is 98 per cent accurate in matching lost and found dog reports.
“A dog is a beloved family member, and if he or she goes missing, it can be devastating to everyone involved,” said John Polimeno, CEO and founder of Finding Rover. “We want to do everything in our ability to reunite more lost dogs with their families. Registering a dog on Finding Rover is another step all owners should take to further protect their cherished pet. Hopefully this technology will soon become added to other tools pet owners and shelters utilize to identify dogs.”
“We are very excited about this new partnership between spcaLA, Finding Rover and VCA that brings the latest technology for the benefit of pets and their families. We want to do everything we can to bring back lost dogs to their loving families,” said Bob Antin, Chief Executive Officer, VCA Inc. “We believe that pet facial recognition technology can have beneficial applications in veterinary medicine and look forward to future possibilities for pet parents that are brought about by this partnership.”
As the exclusive veterinary partner of Finding Rover, VCA Animal Hospitals is providing top-quality pet health care tips through the “Health Tips by VCA Pack” on Finding Rover to deliver valuable information for pet parents to enhance the quality of life for family pets. Future integration with veterinary services are already in development and will further enhance pet health and safety.
spcaLA is now fully integrated with this technology, which allows worried pet parents to search the shelter for their missing dog right from the Finding Rover app or website. Every dog that enters the spcaLA facility becomes automatically registered with facial recognition on Finding Rover. Users can view and favorite adoptable dogs, as well.
“If facial recognition technology can work for the FBI, why not our lost pets?” said Madeline Bernstein, spcaLA President. “spcaLA has always been on the forefront of new technologies for animal welfare. This venture strives to reunite lost pets using the most powerful tools we have – advanced technology and human compassion.”
Key benefits of using Finding Rover include:
• Simple to register: Registration is easy through Facebook and email – all you need is a picture of your dog and a zip code.
• Easy to use: Anyone with a mobile phone can take a photo of a lost dog, which will be instantly posted on Finding Rover.
• Technologically advanced: Finding Rover spent two years with The University of Utah research and development (R&D) department creating its proprietary facial recognition technology. Finding Rover has the only technology that instantly recognizes a dog on the spot.
• Social: Finding Rover unites dog owners based on common interests and provides a forum for users to read up on the latest dog news, share content and interact.
• Free! Finding Rover is free to download and use.
Finding Rover uses facial recognition technology to identify lost and found dogs in real time from a smartphone or computer. The app and website features a lost and found dog notification system that sends a push notification and social-feed photo-alert to users within a 10-mile radius. When a user spots a lost dog, he/she can take a photo either within the app or upload a photo from a device’s photo album. When a dog has been found and identified through Finding Rover’s facial recognition software, the finder will receive information on how to notify the owner. More information is available at www.findingrover.com.
VCA Animal Hospitals operates 679 small animal veterinary hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. The hospitals are staffed by more than 4,000 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians to give pets the very best in medical care, of which over 400 are board-certified specialists who are experts in areas such as Oncology, Cardiology, Emergency & Critical Care, and Surgery for animals. VCA Animal Hospitals provides a full range of general practice services to keep pets well and specialized treatments when pets are ill. For more information, visit www.VCAhospitals.com or follow on Twitter @vcapethealth.
Since 1877, spcaLA has been the premiere independent, nonprofit animal welfare organization serving Southern California. There is no national SPCA, parent organization, or umbrella group that provides financial support to spcaLA. Donations run programs and services, including Cruelty Investigation, Disaster Animal Response Team, Humane Education, and a variety of shelter services. Visit www.spcala.com for more details.
