CHARLOTTE – Every week over 10 million pets go missing, and North Carolina Representative and PetScreening Founder/CEO John Bradford is on a mission to help reunite lost fur babies with their pet parents. Recently, he launched FidoAlert and TabbyAlert, a free service that utilizes text messages to notify people in the vicinity of where your pet went missing.
“I had the idea of creating a lost and found, safe and sound network. That idea evolved into what is now the FidoAlert and TabbyAlert services. Our mission is to help every lost pet find their way home,” says Bradford.
So, how exactly does FidoAlert and TabbyAlert work? The first step is pet parents must sign up online where they will be asked to input their phone numbers, up to 10 emergency contacts, and information about their fur babies. After that, PetScreening will send a free stainless steel tag with a QR code on it. On the back side of each tag, you can also find the physical domain. This is important for people who may find fur babies that do not have a phone capable of scanning QR codes or who may not be as tech-savvy. You can go to fidoalert.com or tabbyalert.com and input the 9-digit fido or tabby ID number to find the lost pet.
“Every pet that is in our system is assigned a 9-digit fido or tabby ID number. Think of it like a social security code for pets. Each pet has an ID that is unique to them,” explains Bradford.
FidoAlert and TabbyAlert just launched a few months ago and already have over 37,000 people signed up. Their goal is to have over half a million users by 2023. With every new user that signs up, the network becomes stronger and a more effective tool for reuniting fur babies to their pet parents.
As Bradford emphasizes, “Your dog or cat is safe when you sign up. However, your dog or cat is safest when everyone around you also signs up. The power of a bigger alert network is important.”
While this new system is an amazing way to reunite pet parents and their fur babies, Bradford wanted to also make sure to protect the privacy of those who are using this free service. If someone finds your lost pet, they will provide the person that finds the pet’s contact information to the pet parent, not the other way around. They want to make sure they are not giving out information that could be used the wrong way.
For more details and to sign up your fur baby please visit fidolert.com or tabbyalert.com.
Passionate Paws Animal Hospital is a proud member of the Union County Chamber of Commerce.
