Napa Co. Animal Shelter Using Facial Recognition Technology To ID Lost Dogs

News from the County of Napa:

The Napa County Animal Shelter is the first in Northern California to integrate facial recognition technology to identify lost pets. Every dog that enters the shelter’s system is registered on Finding Rover, a mobile app and website that allows users to search for missing dogs with their smartphone or computer.

“Dogs are part of the family, and when they go missing it’s heartbreaking,” said Kristen Loomer, shelter manager. “With Finding Rover, we’re now able to help protect pets and provide owners with another tool in case their dogs are lost.”

Whether dogs are reunited with family or find their forever homes through adoption, owners can complete the registration process by email. If the dog is ever lost, the record will already be in the system, and the dog can be quickly identified with technology.

Registration is free and protects the animal for life. Owners snap a close-up photo of the dog’s face, mark the nose and eyes, and then the system scans the dog’s unique features creating a photo ID of the pet.

Finding Rover is available for free at findingrover.com and on iOS and Android devices.

To find out more information about the Napa County Animal Shelter, visit countyofnapa.org/animalshelter.