FidoTabby Alert: A service that helps reunite lost pets and owners

Sometimes, the unthinkable happens. Pets jump the fence or slip out of a front door to explore the great unknown. While they are on an adventure, you’re terrified. Instead of scrambling to select pictures and make a lost poster, why not just use FidoTabby Alert to instantly share a poster with all of the information filled in? That’s exactly what this Amber Alert for pets does.

👉 If you’re interested in learning more about FidoAlert, visit FidoAlert.com and register your pet! 

Many of us know about the Amber Alert system for lost or missing children. Well, FidoTabby Alert is essentially an Amber Alert for pets. When you report a lost pet, everyone in the network within a 5-mile radius is notified, including emergency contacts you specify. This includes a digital lost flier that has vital identification, where you last saw your pet, and your contact information. Essentially,  everything the nearby community needs to identify your lost pet becomes available so that you find help in getting them back to you safely as fast as possible.

For owners with a lost pet

The best thing about FidoTabby Alert is that all of the hard work is taken care of before your pet is ever lost. You proactively fill out details, like unique physical traits, coat color and pattern, size, emergency contacts, and other need-to-know facts before you even order your tags. The info is then saved in the system and readily able to be shared.

Once you order and receive these tags, they go on your pet’s collar. The tags have your pet’s name, a QR code, and pet ID number. And it’s engraved in the metal, preventing fading over time.

When your pet does go missing, you’re not trying to think of these details in addition to panicking. You simply login to FidoAlert, click or tap on your pet’s profile, and find the red “I lost my pet” button (it’s in the upper right corner on laptops, and in the drop-down menu on mobile devices.) You then confirm the details you’ve already entered and report your pet lost. Here’s a walkthrough:

From there, the digital flier goes out to the FidoTabby community and your emergency contacts, and a unique URL for that flier is shared with you so that you can share it via text and social media. Here’s the digital flier:

It’s simple and straightforward for pet owners. And, it is for those who find your pet as well.

What to do if you find a lost pet

Reporting a found pet is a pretty simple process as well. Those who find a dog or cat that is lost can scan the QR code to get to the FidoTabby Alert site, then enter the pet’s unique ID. From there finders provide their contact information and the pet owner, along with their emergency contacts, are notified. This allows pet owners, and their pet’s rescuer, to coordinate pickup times to meet up and return the pet.

For this article, we spoke to Jack, a Senior Product Manager at FidoTabby Alert, about some of the service’s features. Here’s an observation he was able to make about the often unanticipated benefits of FidoTabby Alert.

“What we’ve seen a lot is that pet owners won’t even know their pet is Missing, and then they get a text from the person who found them. In many cases, many people don’t realize that their pet is gone.”

Jack went on to talk about how common it is for kids to leave a door cracked open, or for a house sitter, not familiar with a pet’s sneaky attempts to get out, can inadvertently let a pet escape without even realizing it. While the alert network may not be notified of the missing pet, there’s still an opportunity for them to be found.

For neighbors in the alert network

When a pet goes missing, an alert goes out to everyone within a 5-mile radius of the location. This includes pet parents as well as those who have signed up for FidoTabby Alert just to help. The alert network is notified via text message and is provided with a picture of your pet.

Like our best lists, we always try to test out a product before we recommend it to you, and FidoTabby Alert is no different. To write this article, we actually tested out the ease of signing up and registering one of our feline experts, Sherlock Holmes. Jack also helped us out from an alert network standpoint to get a feel of what it’s like to receive a notification.

Things we loved

There are numerous features of FidoTabby Alert that we really like and that make it a favorable choice over some other pet ID tags out there. Here are our biggest observations.

• Free provided tags. One thing we really like about FidoTabby Alert is that you don’t have to pay for it. You do have to pay for additional tags, like if you have multiple collars or if your pet has a tendency to lose theirs, but those are still less than $5 each.
• Straightforwardness. Throughout the whole sign-up process, it was simple and straightforward. The hardest part was picking a picture of Sherlock — and who wouldn’t have a hard time with that?
• Ease of navigation. Beyond the simple sign-up, the dashboard is very user-friendly. Whether mobile or desktop, it’s easy to navigate between pets and to report your pet as lost.
• Emergency contacts. Emergency contacts are invaluable when you’re out of town and a pet goes missing. With FidoTabby Alert, you can make it so that these contacts are notified when your pet is reported lost or found.
• Engraved tags. We love that the tags are engraved. This prevents fading, tearing, and damage when your pet is out and about (and safe.) We really like that even if it’s a year out from when you add the tag to your pet’s collar, it’ll still work.

Things that could be improved

While we do really like a lot of FidoTabby Alert’s features, there are a few things that they may be able to improve on.

• Pet reporting. The QR code on the tag doesn’t go to a unique page for the pet, but rather to a page where you enter the pet ID. It would be nice if it was unique to the pet.
• Account recovery. When we signed up, we forgot our password and had to reset it. We couldn’t simply enter our phone number. It’s minor but can be irksome if you have multiple emails and can’t remember which one you used.

When we followed up with Jack and the people who make FidoTabby Alert possible, the first drawback we listed was explained. QR codes become more complex the more they are needed. And, with the amount of pets being registered with FidoTabby Alert, that’s a lot of very complex QR codes. Given the size of your pet’s tag, it’s better to avoid overly complex codes that can become illegible with a smartphone.

For any other issues, Jack stated that they are very open to feedback — FidoTabby Alert is intended to help pets find their way home, not be a service that’s irritating or ineffective. Users having issues logging into their account or using the site can email FidoTabby Alert at [email protected].

We’ve looked at and considered numerous pet ID tags — we’ve even reviewed the best dog tags — but the truth is that FidoTabby Alert is the best option that pet parents have when it comes to getting their pet home safely.

No, the tags aren’t made out of Wakanda’s vibranium, and they don’t have a locator beacon to alert you via satellite if your pet is 5 miles, or 500 miles, away from home. The real selling point of FidoTabby Alert is the network.

Users on the FidoTabby Alert network are notified when your pet goes missing and provided everything they need to recognize your dog or cat when they see it. Suddenly, it isn’t just you driving around, frantically searching for your lost pet. And, it’s not a matter of hoping that a paper lost dog poster stays up long enough for the right person to see it.

It’s a network of pet parents empathizing with your fear and panic, and looking in every yard and down every street for your lost pet.

Questions? We had a few too. Check out their frequently asked questions at www.fidoalert.com for answers.