+greyhounder Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I'm posting this from a greyhound digest that I get. Thought it was interesting at any rate: While microchips are fine for linking "found dogs" to their owners, it doesn't really help the owner when the dog is still lost and wandering the streets. Now, GPS systems are available that can track the location of your dog and report it to a cell phone. Here's an excerpt from a recent NY Times article: --- begin quote --- For the Fretting Pet Owner, a Wireless Distress Signal July 15, 2004 In one emerging technology, owners can keep track of their dogs by way of miniaturized Global Positioning System receivers and mobile modems attached to the dogs' collars. ''If the pet leaves the yard, you'll get a call on your cellphone, P.D.A., or any other two-way wireless device,'' said Jennifer Durst, chief executive of GPS Tracks in Oyster Bay, N.Y., which has devised a G.P.S.-based system called the Global Pet Finder. Ms. Durst said the system would be on the market by the end of the year and would fit dogs of all sizes except toy breeds. The receiver will cost about $300 and there will be a monthly ''monitoring fee'' of about $13, she said. ''Cats will be next year,'' she said, ''in version 2.'' People who use the new system can set the boundaries for their dogs at a Web site or on the miniaturized device itself, specifying how far their pets can roam. It might be a backyard, Ms. Durst said, or, if both owner and pet are on vacation, a section of a beach, perhaps, or the area around a motel. Software checks the pet's position constantly, she said. When it passes the default boundaries, an automatic alert is triggered and owners receive a text message. ''It will say, 'Your pet has left' and send the exact location,'' Ms. Durst said. Locations will be identified by street name and number or, for certain cellphones, by maps. ''In rural areas with no street signs, you will be given directions from where you are,'' Ms. Durst said. The G.P.S. receiver calculates the position, and the coordinates are translated into a readable position. The system is designed for any area covered by a G.S.M. cellphone network. Prominent in Europe and Asia, G.S.M. networks are becoming more common in the United States, where they are used by T-Mobile and some other providers. Another application of wireless technology may help reunite pets with their owners even when the animals are in another country. --- end quote --- Quote Link to comment
SiClops Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Yikes! don't tell the wife about this! I can see it now "honey, please wear this new bracelet I got you..." Quote Link to comment
+Team Flying Dachshund Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I want one of these for my dog. If he gets out it is very hard to find him. Quote Link to comment
+Cherokeecacher Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 (edited) My goodness...that thing is pretty small. GlobalPetFinder Edit: Now if I can just train poochie to locate the cache and lay down on top of it, while I locate him Edited August 4, 2004 by Cherokeecacher Quote Link to comment
+Pyewacket Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I want one of these for my dog. If he gets out it is very hard to find him. Is he camouflaged? Quote Link to comment
magellan315 Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I need to get one fo these for my cat. It never ceases to amaze how she can manage to disappear and not be found until shes ready, in a one bedroom apartment. Quote Link to comment
CacheNCarryMA Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 If version 3 is hamster sized, it would be good for geocaching. Quote Link to comment
+Team Four Paw Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I want to put these on the FTF Freaks in my area... Quote Link to comment
+greyhounder Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 I want one of these for my dog. If he gets out it is very hard to find him. Is he camouflaged? Oh! That is just the funniest thing I've heard all day!!! Bec Quote Link to comment
+JMBella Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 $289.00 (retail of $329.00), plus a 12.99/month monitoring fee. Yikes! I'll just strap a garmin rhino to Bella, thanks. Quote Link to comment
+cachew nut Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 (edited) The battery is probably huge, otherwise you are recharging twice a day. Edited August 5, 2004 by cachew nut Quote Link to comment
+4x4 Trail Busters Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Just one step closer to big brother sticking its big fat nose in to everything and everywhere you go. Next we will all have to get a tatoo on our foreheads or hand before we could buy or sell anything. Quote Link to comment
+Cherokeecacher Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Just one step closer to big brother sticking its big fat nose in to everything and everywhere you go. Next we will all have to get a tatoo on our foreheads or hand before we could buy or sell anything. According to my sources, they already have a folder on you. I suggest thicker tinfoil. This could end the debate on "how to get a moving cache approved" DOH, should have done it first then shared the idea Quote Link to comment
+4x4 Trail Busters Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 According to my sources, they already have a folder on you. I suggest thicker tinfoil. This could end the debate on "how to get a moving cache approved" DOH, should have done it first then shared the idea Take my word for it, it doesn't work and it makes you look silly! Quote Link to comment
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