Pet recovery service
Encyclopedia
A pet recovery service is a service that has been created for the specific purpose of reuniting lost or stolen pets with their owners.,,,,.
, a pet detective, a "psychic
", or a bulk-calling computer that can quickly alert hundreds of neighbors by phone. It may also include websites that offer advice on how to conduct a search.
has been promoted as a solution for pet recovery that does not require a collar. Veterinary services, animal shelters, and even some individuals have a chip scanner. In the U.S. such services are unregulated, and several types of chips have emerged with only some adhering to the pertinent ISO standards, ISO 11784 and ISO 11785. Originally each type had its own scanner with no ability to read or even detect other types but there is now a trend to universal scanners able to read all types. In the U.S. more than a dozen pet recovery services maintain databases of chip ID numbers and their associated owners' contact information, and compete with each other not only for the business of the pet owner but also the attention of the pet finder. But unlike the identifying collar tags mentioned above, the appropriate database keeper cannot always be determined from the ID number, complicating the task of returning the pet to its owner.
These meta-search engines interface with the pet finder, not the pet loser. One might ask, what puts them under the topic of "pet recovery service"? It's because the main registries delegate to them part of the responsibility of distributing crucial information from their database to the pet finder who types in the stray pet's code. Generally this is only a found/not found answer (possibly with a date returned too) but it makes the meta-search engine a sub-agent of main registry.
Bizarre restrictions on who can use the system may be part of why two of the major U.S. chip registries, AVID PetTrac and 24petwatch.com, have chosen not to make the petmicrochiplookup.org system their web interface to the pet rescuer community. Its terms and conditions prohibit use by anyone under age 18; reputable registries might not consider this an appropriate restriction for a partner that would share in their duty of following all available leads to reunite pet and owner.
When a meta-search engine like this is perfected, and is connected to all the available registries, it can help the pet finder or dog warden find the one registry that has an owner record for a found stray, but it doesn't fix all the problems of having multiple competing registries instead of a single official one. In the U.S. and some other countries, several major registries accept registrations of any brand of chip, and in many cases, they specifically solicit such cross-registrations. The resulting free-for-all of promiscuous registries might seem to give the pet-owning consumer empowering choices, but there's a little bit of a coercive aspect, because if he doesn't spend the money to register with all the databases, it's possible for a thief to steal the animal, register him or her with another database, and sell the animal to a different family, transferring apparent clear title in the form of a login account at, or registration document from, the second registry. (This could even happen multiple times, if each thief in sequence picks a different registry, until they're all used up. There could be one original and four subsequent owners for one pet, each with a solid claim to ownership based on the same "secure & tamperproof" ID device. When the pet eventually slips his collar, a universal meta-search engine could tell the dog catcher that the chip is registered under five databases, but it wouldn't let him know they represent five different families, four of which were sold a stolen pet. And, the petmicrochiplookup.org instructions imply the most recently modified registration is that of the rightful owner, which is not necessarily true in this case.)
Search aids not requiring pre-arrangement
A wide variety of pet recovery services exist; one broad category includes those that don't require the owner to prearrange anything before the pet goes missing. This includes enterprises that may provide a bloodhoundBloodhound
The Bloodhound is a large breed of dog which, while originally bred to hunt deer and wild boar, was later bred specifically to track human beings. It is a scenthound, tracking by smell, as opposed to a sighthound, which tracks using vision. It is famed for its ability to discern human odors even...
, a pet detective, a "psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
", or a bulk-calling computer that can quickly alert hundreds of neighbors by phone. It may also include websites that offer advice on how to conduct a search.
Services supporting external identification
Then there are services that keep a registry database keyed by an external identifying feature of the pet. This includes tattoo registries. It also includes database services that provide a collar or collar tag with an identifying number or QR code. With these, the pet finder doesn't need to have ever heard of the service before, or puzzle over which of the numerous obscure registries to contact. That's because as long as the identifier stays with the pet, the service's toll-free number or web address goes with it. As for why this would be preferred over simply putting the owner's phone number on a metal collar tag, for one thing, there may be desired privacy aspects of having an intermediary, and, the owner might foresee periods of being unreachable at any one phone number.Services supporting tracking devices
Several types of collar-attached electronic tracking devices are available also. The providers of these devices and of their activation contracts, where required, may also be considered pet recovery services. These have the advantage that if the device remains attached, and if animal can be tracked down before the batteries run out, they completely eliminate any need to rely on the pet encountering a helpful stranger.Microchip implant database operators
Since the early 1990s, the underskin I.D. tag or microchip implantMicrochip implant (animal)
A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of a dog, cat, horse, parrot or other animal. The chips are about the size of a large grain of rice and are based on a passive RFID technology....
has been promoted as a solution for pet recovery that does not require a collar. Veterinary services, animal shelters, and even some individuals have a chip scanner. In the U.S. such services are unregulated, and several types of chips have emerged with only some adhering to the pertinent ISO standards, ISO 11784 and ISO 11785. Originally each type had its own scanner with no ability to read or even detect other types but there is now a trend to universal scanners able to read all types. In the U.S. more than a dozen pet recovery services maintain databases of chip ID numbers and their associated owners' contact information, and compete with each other not only for the business of the pet owner but also the attention of the pet finder. But unlike the identifying collar tags mentioned above, the appropriate database keeper cannot always be determined from the ID number, complicating the task of returning the pet to its owner.
Meta-search engines, an attempt to fix the multiple database problem
As an aid to the pet finder in this situation, chip registry meta-search engines have been established. Two that have been available at least since 2003 are europetnet.com, which has a large number of participating registries in Europe only, and petmaxx.com, whose list of participant registries is worldwide but somewhat thin in places. (Its list includes only one of the major U.S. registries.) In 2009, the petmicrochiplookup.org meta search engine, sponsored by the American Animal Hospital Association, was put on line. It has three of the five major U.S. registries as participants.These meta-search engines interface with the pet finder, not the pet loser. One might ask, what puts them under the topic of "pet recovery service"? It's because the main registries delegate to them part of the responsibility of distributing crucial information from their database to the pet finder who types in the stray pet's code. Generally this is only a found/not found answer (possibly with a date returned too) but it makes the meta-search engine a sub-agent of main registry.
Bizarre restrictions on who can use the system may be part of why two of the major U.S. chip registries, AVID PetTrac and 24petwatch.com, have chosen not to make the petmicrochiplookup.org system their web interface to the pet rescuer community. Its terms and conditions prohibit use by anyone under age 18; reputable registries might not consider this an appropriate restriction for a partner that would share in their duty of following all available leads to reunite pet and owner.
When a meta-search engine like this is perfected, and is connected to all the available registries, it can help the pet finder or dog warden find the one registry that has an owner record for a found stray, but it doesn't fix all the problems of having multiple competing registries instead of a single official one. In the U.S. and some other countries, several major registries accept registrations of any brand of chip, and in many cases, they specifically solicit such cross-registrations. The resulting free-for-all of promiscuous registries might seem to give the pet-owning consumer empowering choices, but there's a little bit of a coercive aspect, because if he doesn't spend the money to register with all the databases, it's possible for a thief to steal the animal, register him or her with another database, and sell the animal to a different family, transferring apparent clear title in the form of a login account at, or registration document from, the second registry. (This could even happen multiple times, if each thief in sequence picks a different registry, until they're all used up. There could be one original and four subsequent owners for one pet, each with a solid claim to ownership based on the same "secure & tamperproof" ID device. When the pet eventually slips his collar, a universal meta-search engine could tell the dog catcher that the chip is registered under five databases, but it wouldn't let him know they represent five different families, four of which were sold a stolen pet. And, the petmicrochiplookup.org instructions imply the most recently modified registration is that of the rightful owner, which is not necessarily true in this case.)