PetScreening, a first-of-its-kind screening platform that empowers property managers to outsource their pet risk assessment and assistance animal validation processes at no charge, today announced the launch of FidoAlert.com (for dogs) and TabbyAlert.com (for cats). This new lost-and-found pet platform is designed to help every lost pet find its way home and is fully funded by PetScreening as the company’s social mission.
It’s a free service to any pet owner and is the conception of PetScreening Founder and CEO John Bradford, who always envisioned ways to assist in reuniting missing pets with their families. The American Humane Association estimates that approximately 10 million dogs and cats go missing each year, and the goal of the innovative alert platforms is to significantly reduce that number.
“We consider it an ‘Amber Alert for Pets,’” Bradford said. “For years, I’ve constantly brainstormed and sought to create ways that could bring more happy endings in cases when pets are lost, stolen or otherwise unable to find their way home. Just as importantly, I wanted it to be free and easily accessible for all pet owners nationwide. I knew we had to design and build a national alert network that uses SMS-texting for primary communication because it’s undoubtedly the fastest way to spread the word of a lost or found pet. It is no secret that most people read their text messages within minutes and when a pet is lost every minute counts.”
Any pet owner in the U.S. can enroll their pets into the free FidoAlert and TabbyAlert network and can generate SMS-text and email alerts when a pet is lost or found. Pet owners self-register their pets through the fast-and-secure platform and can enter up to 10 trusted emergency contacts. If a registered pet owner loses their pet, they can initiate a lost pet alert that sends a SMS-text message with a digital lost-pet flier to everyone in the FidoAlert and TabbyAlert network who are within a few miles of the location where the pet was lost. The text alert includes the lost pet’s photo and other helpful information to create near-instantaneous awareness about the lost pet. The digital flier is shareable on social media platforms.
Every pet registered receives a free customized pet tag ($8 value) engraved with the pet’s name, unique ID number and QR code that is uniquely assigned to each pet. Anyone who finds a lost pet wearing one of these tags can easily scan the QR code with a cell phone and initiate a FidoAlert or TabbyAlert, even if they are not enrolled in the Alert network. Almost instantaneously, the pet’s owner and all of their trusted emergency contacts receive a SMS-text message and email notifying them that their lost pet has been found, along with information connecting them to their pet’s finder.
“This provides extra layers of protection beyond microchips and GPS collars,” said Andrew Hartman, chief growth officer of PetScreening. “With FidoAlert and TabbyAlert, battery power is never required, nor is there an app to download or a radio frequency identification reader needed. If a registered pet owner ever encounters an unfortunate and stressful instance when their pet goes missing, a cell phone or web browser is all they'll need to initiate a Fido or Tabby alert.”
To help spread awareness of the platform, FidoAlert and TabbyAlert teams are engaging in a summer road tour across the Carolinas to register as many pets as possible. As part of the outreach effort, they are planning to attend pet-friendly festivals, ball games, breweries and other social activities.
All pet owners nationwide are encouraged to register their pets for free at FidoAlert.com and TabbyAlert.com. The platform can be found on social media @getfidotabbyalert.
