Have you ever had a pet that became lost, unable to find the way home? Or have you ever discovered a pet that looked lost?
Now, a simple-to-use program can help reunite lost pets with their owners.
Nonprofit organization Petco Love has launched its My Ruff Day campaign to increase the number of reunions with their free-to-use, national lost-and-found database for pets, Petco Love Lost.
The platform, used by Jacksonville Humane Society (JHS), uses image recognition technology to help families reunite with their missing pets via one photo. The platform can be found at petcolovelost.org.
“My Ruff Day” is an animated short series that follows lost pets as they try to find their way back home, as told from the dog’s or cat’s point of view. The first episode follows Boomer on moving day as he heroically seeks to find his family’s missing toy, only to find himself lost and alone in his new neighborhood. Good Samaritans step in and, by using Petco Love Lost, are able to reunite him quickly with his frantically searching family. Actor and producer Jonathan Taylor Thomas is the voice of Boomer in “My Ruff Day.”
To watch the animated story, go to petcolove.org/lost/signup-unite-to-reunite. Boomer’s story represents the millions of pets that go missing each year. Here are some facts:
· One out of three pets become lost at some point in their lifetime.
· Nearly 10 million pets go missing each year.
· Many loved dogs and cats end up in crowded shelters, especially in the summer months.
“Not every lost pet is as lucky as Boomer,” said Petco Love President Susanne Kogut. “With Petco Love Lost, we aim to change that by uniting communities and organizations with one goal in mind: keep pets and families together for a lifetime of love. Using our database with image recognition technology as the national billboard to report all lost and found pets, we can Unite to Reunite, and send all pets, like Boomer, back into the arms of the families who love them.”
Many participating animal shelters in the United States use Petco Love Lost to help reunite the pets in their care, including JHS.
“We work tirelessly for pets in our care, and that includes helping lost pets throughout our community get home and back to their families where they belong,” said Denise Deisler, JHS CEO. “There’s nothing more rewarding than reuniting families with their beloved pets and with Petco Love Lost, we’re confident it can lead to many more happy reunions right here in Jacksonville.”
Petco Love encourages everyone to register their pet now in case they go missing later. Petco Love Lost helps reunite pets across multiple platforms, including the Ring/Neighbors app, Nextdoor and Facebook. Petco Love Lost can help people in almost any language, and it provides privacy for those who use it. To learn more about JHS, go to jaxhumane.org and follow @jaxhumane on Facebook and Instagram.
For further information about Petco Love Lost, go to petcolovelost.org or @PetcoLoveLost on Facebook, Instagram and X.
