Bringing Home Lost Pets: How a Free Nationwide Alert Network Is Reuniting Families

In my office, our eyeballs meet as I ask, ‘What kind of animal do you have?’ ‘It’s my pet,’ she says, her shoulders sagging as her whole being slumps. She’s thinking I will tell her to spend $200 on a Neck Trax GPS tracker. We’ve all been there as pet owners, a gut-wrenching moment that prompts the same pattern of behaviour: panic, desperate crying, desperate prayers, hopeful thoughts, and then realising your pet is gone for good. Microchips are great. But they only work if the vet, shelter, or passing good Samaritan bothers to check for a microchip. A $200 Neck Trax tracker will tell you where your dog went, but only if it’s still alive. Tagg, a breed of tracker that gives you the exact location of your pet at any given moment in time, can tell you that your pet is alive – but only if you paid for the Extended Plan that ensures year-round service. Tagg is $100. GPS Pets is $110. Yesterday, I learned about FidoAlert, a free nationwide alert network which all but guarantees you’ll have your little lost friend find her way back home. Pronto.

What Is FidoAlert? The Digital Lifeline for Lost Pets

For deep down, FidoAlert is not a service. It’s a community: a global network of pet people and pet finders sharing in a common mission: saving someone’s dog, or cat, or hamster. And then, just exactly, how does the digital hero save our pets? How does it bring Fido home?

Getting Your Pet Onboard with FidoAlert

You literally sign up to become part of the FidoAlert network by going to the FidoAlert website, setting up an account with PetScreening.com, and receiving a pet ID and registration tag (with QR code) – all gratis. Your pet is immediately enveloped in a blanket of nationwide safety.

Triggering an Alert: The Search Begins

Then, whenever you lose your pet, FidoAlert kicks in. Once you set off an alert on their network, your pet’s picture and important information immediately broadcast to any FidoAlert user within a few miles of where you last saw your pet, creating an instant alert community.

The Joy of Reunion: When Your Pet Is Found

And if a good Samaritan were to find your lost pet, all that person would have to do is scan the QR code on your pet’s tag and the reunification process would be under way, sending a text to you and your emergency contacts with all the finder’s contact information. This direct one-to-many communication could potentially halve the amount of time it would take to get your pet back home.

The Benefits of Joining the FidoAlert Community

• It’s Free: FidoAlert is run entirely on donations from other animal-hippies all over the country.
• Nationwide Connectivity: Reaching far and wide, no lost pet remains hopelessly out of reach.
• Instant Alerts: Speed is of the essence, and FidoAlert doesn’t take a second too long to get the word out.
• Privacy Matters: Your contact details are shielded, shared only when you decide it's right.

Celebrating Success: Over 35,000 Pets Brought Home

At FidoAlert you can see the statistics – more than 35,000 reunions at last count. But the stories behind those statistics – such as those of the families restored, sometimes within minutes of texting to say their pet was lost – are what paint the clearest picture of a powerful network and a powerful community.

How to Make Your Pet a FidoAlert Member

Or click the ‘Get Your Free Michael’s Tip: Throw a ball Mickey’s Tip: Throw yourself into a important Allocate Michael’s Kit ball Mickey’s girlfriend Pet ID Tag’ button on this order from the FidoAlert website to sign up. Everyone’s dog – and cat – is welcome.

Understanding the Importance of HOME

But every step of this task underscores the importance of home: not only a place, but where we most connect with other people, where our relationships are nurtured, and where family members – two- or four-legged – feel love and safety. FidoAlert is just one of the many ways that we will do whatever it takes to make sure that our pets, who play such a vital role in our lives, get home to the place where they belong.

By providing this tech-augmented second line of defence – because, let’s face it, we’re all a little accident-prone – FidoAlert is helping us to manage the common perils and personal anxieties of having animals as part of our lives, and ensuring that they stay safely at home.