Pet Finding App Reunites Fire Evacuees With Their Pets
A woman created an app that helps pet owners who evacuated from the California fires find their pets who may have gone missing during the evacuation process.
By DAVID on November 13, 2018
Pets are our family, and naturally we want to take them with us in a natural disaster. The problem is that sometimes pets get scared and their instincts kick in. They may take off running while we try to get them into a car. Maybe they sneak out before we’ve got everything we’re taking with us packed up. Other times they hide and we just don’t have time to find them for our own safety. That last one sounds terrible, and I can’t imagine how I’d feel in that situation. But in some of these evacuations, people were down to mere seconds of spare time before the fire came.
As the fires become contained or burn out, rescuers are searching through what used to be homes and buildings. Sometimes they find pets wandering the streets, or perhaps even where their family’s home used to stand. These pets are captured, and taken to area shelters. Another problem is that some of these shelters are at capacity, and the animals have to be taken to other shelters in the area. A lot of the animals from the Camp Fire have wound up here in Sacramento as well.
That’s where this app comes into play. The app was created by a woman named Amber Wittner. Within the app, whether you find or lose a pet, you can place a dot on a map. With the dot, you can add some information about the pet. Information like description, how to get in touch with you, etc. If you find a pet, you can place a star on the map, and hopefully the person who lost the pet will see the star on a map near where their home is. It’s a nice tool that can help track down a lost pet, and help keep the family all together in the time of disaster. See some more information about the app here.