MADACC and WHS partner with facial recognition app for lost dogs
Milwaukee, WI – The Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) and Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC) are excited to announce a new partnership with Finding Rover.
Finding Rover is a free social media based app that uses facial recognition to help reunite lost dogs with their owners, and enables people to view stray animals in care at the MADACC in Milwaukee and WHS in Racine and Ozaukee Counties.
Finding Rover receives data on the lost dogs MADACC and WHS intake as strays or abandoned animals, and posts those photos and basic information to the Finding Rover app. People can then search for their animal on their phone, filtering by various fields. In addition to location, breed, age, etc., Finding Rover will comb their listings for the top five closest matches based on facial features.
As part of this effort, every dog adopted from MADACC and WHS will also be pre-registered in the Finding Rover database; they can be automatically transferred to an owner’s Finding Rover account after adoption. If that dog ever gets lost, an owner can use using the Finding Rover facial recognition search to help bring his or her lost dog home.
“We highly encourage everyone to register with Finding Rover,” said Karen Sparapani, executive director at MADACC. “We know that ID tags and microchips are critical in reuniting lost animals with owners, and Finding Rover’s platform is yet another great way to make sure more lost dogs are quickly returned to owners.”
To use Finding Rover, simply download the app to your Apple or Android device or access the app through the website, www.FindingRover.com.
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The Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC ) currently rescues and assures safe, temporary shelter, veterinary and humane care for nearly 13,000 stray, unwanted, abandoned, mistreated and injured animals each year — more than any other animal control shelter in Wisconsin. MADACC provides a central location for owners to find and recover their lost pets at 3839 W. Burnham St. in West Milwaukee. MADACC rescues strays and removes dangerous animals from public areas providing effective animal control services by active enforcement of Wisconsin State Statues pertaining to animal welfare. For more information call (414)649-8640 or visit the MADACC website at www.madacc.org. MADACC is open to the public 7 days a week.
The Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) is the oldest and largest shelter in Wisconsin. It was founded in 1879 and operates shelters in Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Racine Counties, as well as a spay/neuter clinic in West Allis. The organization cares for 24,000 each year and offers adoption services, educational programming, veterinary resources for animals from low-income households, retail stores, volunteer programs and dog training classes. The Milwaukee shelter also houses the state’s largest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. WHS is an independent nonprofit and receives no general government funding and is not part of any national umbrella group. For more information, visit www.wihumane.org
- Tuesday, April 19, 2016
- For immediate release
- Media Contact: Angela Speed
- aspeed@wihumane.org
