Kody's and Heikke's stories below are the inspiration for the design of the PetALERTZ program, after witnessing the trauma of these experiences first hand, we had one goal in mind, improve the process of reuniting pets with their people!
Happy Tails
Heikke - Bernese Mountain Dog - Los Gatos, California
For Heikke the afternoon of July 18, 2007 seemed like any other lazy summer day, until the Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, went missing in what seemed a split second of time
Kody - Havanese - San Mateo, California
It’s not unusual to have a network of friends and responsible kids to trade support with when traveling so that your pets get as close to the care you give them when you’re not there. There's a lot of trust in this network and sometimes the details are missed in what to do if an emergency strikes.
Careful consideration of the factors that controlled these lost pet experiences led us to conclude that there was a huge opportunity in improving how we communicate a lost pet quickly to the people and services that matter.
On line information about community services and resources
We are big fans of local community services because they play a key role when a pet is lost within a local neighborhood. However, it’s not always clear on who to call when, and how to get the right updates to the right people. The PetALERTZ program provides a “what to expect” when you report your pet lost, so you don’t have to wonder if you have done all the necessary steps.
From Kody’s story, we found that the local services only called Kody’s home telephone number and not the caregiver’s. Since the caregiver wasn’t called, the search continued longer than it needed to within the community. PetALERTZ has the flexibility to contact the right people at the right time so everyone has the most up-to-date information on a pet’s status. The power of the community
We’re confident that had the PetALERTZ program been in place at the time of Kody’s or Heikke's escape, the committed pet lovers in the neighborhood would have come to the rescue more quickly. This is what we want for all of our pets – a safe return that minimizes the trauma our pets will experience if they are lost.
