SMARTPHONE TECH KEEPS TABS ON PETS

Pet owners now have a range of tech tools to keep track of their cats and dogs, easing the worry of a missing companion.

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TRACKING YOUR FURRY FRIENDS

Devices like Apple’s AirTag, Chipolo’s Bluetooth trackers, and Tractive’s GPS collars let you monitor your pet’s location using a smartphone, offering peace of mind when they wander off. These gadgets, paired with apps, show real-time paths or alert you if your pet strays beyond a set area, making searches faster than calling their name in the neighborhood.

Microchips, long a staple for pet identification, remain essential but don’t provide real-time tracking. These rice-sized RFID implants, inserted by a vet, store contact details that shelters or clinics can scan to reunite lost pets with owners. GPS trackers, however, clip onto collars and use satellites and cellular networks to pinpoint locations, often with features like activity monitoring or geofencing. The catch? Most require subscriptions, costing $5 to $10 monthly, unlike microchips, which have no ongoing fees.

The rise of these tools reflects a growing need: over 10 million pets go missing yearly in the U.S., with one in three lost at some point. From Bluetooth trackers for indoor cats to rugged GPS devices for adventurous dogs, the options suit different needs, but each has limits, like range or battery life, that owners must weigh.

BLUETOOTH TRACKERS FOR CLOSERANGE FINDS

Bluetooth trackers, like Apple’s AirTag or Chipolo’s One Spot, are popular for pets that stay close to home. These small, coin-sized devices attach to a collar and rely on nearby smartphones—yours or others in the area— to relay location signals via apps like Apple’s Find My or Chipolo’s network. With a range of 100 to 500 feet, they’re ideal for urban settings where phones are plentiful, helping find a cat hiding under a neighbor’s porch or a dog in a nearby park.