Locate Your Lost Dogs with FindShadow

Even with technology such as microchips, only 18% of dogs in shelters are returned to their rightful owners. Most dog owners think that microchipping their animals is a 100% foolproof manner to protect their dog from getting lost, but the statistics show they are wrong.

Why doesn’t micro-chipping alone work?

The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice, which is then implanted into the back of the neck of the dog. It is encapsulated in bioglass and contains a small transponder that emits a unique ID on a certain radio frequency. This unique ID is stored in a database with information on the owner.

However, there could be lots of issues with the chip. The chip could migrate within the dog’s body. It might simply fail. The dog could have multiple chips in their body if they had a previous owner. The contact information associated with your chip might be incorrect, especially if you didn’t call the chip manufacturer to update it. Finally, there isn’t a standardized chip and scanner. Several different chips operate at different frequencies, meaning any potential scan could become muddled.

Losing your dog can be an extremely stressful experience. No one needs to go through it alone. It’s not the owner's fault. Perhaps someone left the back door open. The harness breaks. Fireworks go off. A sudden storm can make your dog flee. It can happen to anyone.

How can FindShadow help me find my dog?

FindShadow is a smartphone application that can be found on Google Play and Apple Store. It is not a one-dimensional tool to help bring your dog home. Rather, it combines technology, a community of volunteers, and several innovative features such as:

• Alerts, which get sent out to the community, friends, and family
• Photo matching software that allows volunteers to match photos of dogs in area shelters.
• Printable street flyers that can be posted throughout your neighborhood.

The idea for the app started, appropriately enough, with a dog named Shadow.

Her owner was out on the street, hanging flyers every day. He felt hopeless and alone in his search.

“He couldn’t believe she was gone.”

He started using social media such as Facebook, but there were still no solid leads coming in. People were sending him clues, but he had to put them together like a puzzle, patiently. This was when he realized he needed a community to help find Shadow. One day, he was walking on a vacant street littered with trash. Behind a fence next to a dumpster, he saw a black dog. A black nose peeked through the fence, and he instantly knew it was Shadow.

“And with that, the idea of FindShadow was born.”

FindShadow uses the passion of a community and the power of technology to find lost dogs. The community of volunteers and pet owners provides access to an extensive database of lost and found dogs.

When you first start the app, you are provided with three different options:

1. I’m here to help dogs
2. I want to report a lost dog
3. I want to report a found dog

Once you download and install the app, you are sent an authentication code to verify your phone. Then, you add your profile photo and allow the app to use GPS to determine your location. Then, you record a video that explains how you lost your dog. Once your video is uploaded, you are sent to a home page that provides access to the community, your profile, help, notifications, and the ability to report a lost or found a dog.

There is also a search feature that allows you to search for lost, found, and reunited dogs, buttons that show lost dogs near you, and a list of dogs that you have helped in the past.

The help button provides access to Today’s Tasks, which serves as an action plan that searches through hundreds of photos of lost dogs in the community to help identify yours.

The application is currently live in the Los Angeles, New York, and New Jersey areas.

If you are a dog owner in those regions and want to help, or have unfortunately lost your dog, it is one of the better tools available to bring your dog home.