On June 22, 2015, Washoe County announced that it was the first in Nevada, along with the Nevada Humane Society, to team up with Finding Rover, an app that uses facial recognition to help identify lost dogs. Finding Rover consists of a free mobile app and website and is very easy to use. It has been extremely beneficial in assisting dog owners reunite with their lost pets in a timely manner. Here is how it works:

The app and website use a lost and found dog notification system that sends out push notifications to users within a 10-mile area. When a potentially lost dog is identified, the user takes a picture of the dog, either within the app or uploads the picture from his or her device’s photo album, and Finding Rover’s facial recognition software determines whether or not the uploaded picture matches one of the lost pets on file. Once a dog has been identified through the software, the finder receives information on how to contact the dog’s owner.

 Washoe County Regional Animal Services and the Nevada Humane Society are now using the Finding Rover app to help Washoe County residents find their lost dogs. Both shelters now upload pictures of all newly found or admitted dogs to Finding Rover, which not only matches up found dogs with lost dogs submitted by users, but also allows users to browse the shelters’ listings of found dogs right from their phones or computers. In addition, the Nevada Humane Society now registers all newly adopted dogs with Finding Rover at the time of adoption, which could prove to be an extremely valuable resource in the event that a dog goes missing.

For more information on the app, visit Finding Rover’s website at www.findingrover.com