A Tip to Pet Lovers….From Bill Bowser
There are some low cost electronic devices on the market which enable a pet owner to locate a wayward pet that you may not know about. They work in conjunction with your cellphone. There is the Apple AirTag for iPhones and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag for Android phones. One AirTag is $29, and four cost $100. The SmartTags are a little cheaper.
They are both small, light weight devices that can be attached to your pet’s collar, like his/her other tags, although the AirTag requires a case (sold separately). These devices are intended for use with personal items which might be misplaced or stolen, such as one’s keys, backpack, or luggage, so they have limited functionality.
These are not GPS trackers, so they don’t always provide exact current location information, but there is no on-going cost except to replace the battery, which lasts about a year. (GPS trackers require cellphone service, which entails a monthly service fee.) Both of these devices use Bluetooth to communicate with nearby cellphones to determine their location which is shown in the Find Me app on your phone. So, if your pet wanders into an area where there are no people with cellphones nearby, the app will show his last known position, but not his/her current position. It’s not a perfect system, but it is inexpensive and a whole lot better than nothing.
I have an AirTag for my dog Murphy, with which I’m very happy, but the SmartTag has some additional features which seem pretty cool. You can find lots of information about these on the Internet.
(If you’re frequently misplacing your things, or you have a pet that likes to wander off, you should probably check these things out. You could also hide one in your car, which might help you recover it if it is stolen.)
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