3 minute read
From the Director’s Desk
Keeping Families Together
Story and Photo by Monica Dangler Director of Pima Animal Care Center
One of our primary goals at the Pima Animal Care Center is to keep families together. We know that people from all walks of life love their pets and value them as family, and we work each and every day to preserve and uplift these human-animal bonds.
In order to help more families stay together, PACC has partnered with PetcoLove Lost, a facialrecognition technology that links photos of lost and found pets in a chosen area. The platform creates a direct, secure connection between the owner and finder, allowing them to reunite the pet without having to come to a shelter at all. Best of all, this groundbreaking technology is provided to the public at no cost.
When I first learned about this technology, I tested it out with a picture of my pit bull, Meemers. I uploaded her photo and marked her as “lost” (although, thankfully, she was snoozing at my feet at the time!). The platform immediately offered a few choices of local found dogs who looked like Meemers, and sure enough, she was the second one listed.
Of course, I was only testing the system. Had it been a true emergency, I would have selected Meemers’ photo and been immediately put in contact with the finder. This quick and easy process gave me so much hope for a more straightforward way of getting pets back to their owners quickly and safely without complicating factors like getting the animal transported to the shelter, subjecting them to the often scary intake process, and costs.
We are very excited about the potential of this new effort to keep more pets with their families in the months to come. The next step for Pima County pet lovers is to register their pets’ photos on the platform at lost.petcolove.org. Then, if they are lost, it is quick and easy to go in and mark the pet as ‘lost’ and begin seeing photo matches in the area.
PetcoLove Lost also gives you the ability to quickly create “lost” and “found” posters to hang in your neighborhood and social media posts to place on relevant sites.
PetcoLove Lost has the ability to transform the way lost and found pets are handled across the country. We just need YOUR help in spreading the word, uploading lost and found pets to the platform and registering your pets.
Pima County, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Dallas are just a few of the communities using PetcoLove Lost. We strongly believe that with PetcoLove Lost, we can make the world better for lost and found pets.
Meanwhile, PACC is in desperate need of foster families and adopters for medium to large-breed dogs. All adoptions are currently free. To see available pets and services, go to pima.gov/animalcare.
