The system makes use of facial recognition software to scan through photos of pets and match them to their owners.
Officials at LifeLine shelters will take photos of the stray animals that have been picked up and post them on the site, and officials from Fulton and DeKalb County Animal Services will also be able to upload pictures to the system. If a person loses a pet and reports it on the Finding Rover website, the photo of the pet is scanned and cross-referenced with the pictures of strays currently at shelters. The picture will also be checked against animals that have been found and with the records at participating shelters within 200 miles. Printing services can also be used to help find lost pets.
Rebecca Guinn, the CEO of LifeLine, said:
“We now have two caseworkers at each of our county shelters providing lost pet assistance, rehoming support and help to struggling pet owners. Facial recognition technology is a wonderful new tool that we’re now using in addition to microchip scanning.”
Guinn added that she is happy to have another tool that helps bring lost pets and their owners back together. Finding Rover is designed for use in tandem with microchips in order to ensure that if pets go missing, they can make it back home again.