Clay County using facial recognition to help reunited lost pets with owners

Clay County Animal Service partners with Finding Rover

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County Animal Services is going high-tech to help reunite lost dogs and cats with their owners

Animal Services announced Monday that it is partnering with Finding Rover, which uses facial recognition technology to compare photos of missing and found pets in the area to make an instant match. Animal Services says the technology has a 98% accuracy rate.

“It’s awesome," said Dr. Jennifer Broadhurst, shelter medical director. "They use a lot of points on the animal’s face and distance between their eyes and their length to make sure they’re matching it with the right animal. And being able to have that available to help reunite animals, we think, will be a good service for us, especially during times like a natural disaster, like a hurricane where there are a lot more lost pets.”

Every dog and cat that enters the shelter will be registered on Finding Rover with their name, photo, and details about the animal. Additionally, every pet that leaves the shelter through adoption or reunion will already be registered in the Finding Rover database.

To register your pet, visit FindingRover.com and upload a forward-facing photo of your pet and enter a few details about the animal, as well as your name and address.

Registration is free and your information remains private.

You can also go to the Finding Rover website to upload a lost pet’s photo, search for lost and found pets, upload a photo of a pet you found and search for adoptable dogs and cats.

“If they have their pet registered and they will get a quick alert that the pet was found at our shelter and information on where to come," Broadhurst said. “Not only will that help the pet owner, but that will help us have less pets in our care to help the animals who really need.”

Finding Rover offered some tips taking a proper pet photo, including no side profiles of pets and no cages or fencing in front of their faces.

Finding Rover provides tips for taking pet photos. (Finding Rover)

The shelter recommends a pet has a registered microchip and a tag with the owner’s information on the collar. Owners should also use a leash while walking their pets and keep them in a secure location to reduce the risk of their animals becoming lost.