Pocatello Animal Services uses facial recognition to find lost pets

Article written by Isabelle Justice.

On Friday, Pocatello Animal Services announced that the city will work with Petco Love Lost, an animal facial recognition database, to help find lost pets in the Eastern Idaho area.

“We see firsthand how quickly a pet can go missing,” said Crystal Anderson, Pocatello Animal Services Department Specialist, in a press release. “There’s nothing more rewarding than reuniting families with their beloved pets.”

Petco Love is a nonprofit organization that has worked with animal foster families since 1999. Petco Love Lost, a program from Petco Love, allows owners to upload photos of their dogs and cats to be added to the database which contains over 170,000 photos, according to their website.

“Petco Love Lost … uses patented facial recognition technology to make finding lost pets quicker and easier,” wrote Marlise Irby, Pocatello’s public information officer. “Uploaded photos of a missing dog or cat are immediately scanned to determine whether the lost pet is at a participating shelter or with a neighbor in the community.”

Stray animals are kept at the Pocatello Animal Shelter for three business days and then may be made available for adoption. With Petco Love Lost, the city hopes the database can help pets find their homes.

Click here to view the Pocatello Animal Services Stray Animals list.