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How To Prevent Losing Your Pet & How to Recover Them If You Do

How To Best Prevent Losing Your Pet Lost Dog Substantial Reward Poster

According to the National Dog Registry, there are approximately two million dogs that go missing each year in America – and less than 60,000 are ever recovered. Losing a pet can be extremely stressful, and sadly, without taking the appropriate steps, there is no guarantee that you will find them. That is why it is essential to do all you can to prevent losing them, and to know exactly what actions to take if you do.

The 3 most important steps to take to prevent losing your pet

These points may seem blindingly obvious, but it’s surprising just how many pet owners fail to put these preventative measures in place before it’s too late.

1. Collar and tag

Make sure that whenever they have access to the outdoors (which for many pets may be 24/7), they are wearing a good quality collar and tag that clearly lists their name, your name and the best contact number to reach you on at any time of the day or night.

2. Microchipping

When microchipping your pet, the vet inserts a chip into their shoulder, which is a painless procedure and causes no adverse reactions. This chip contains their official information, including your contact details, so it’s also important to keep this information up-to-date. In the event that you lose your pet and they are handed into a veterinary surgery, it will be easy for them to scan your pet’s chip and reunite you with them quickly.

3. Electronic monitoring and recovery system

Ensuring that your pet is wearing an electronic monitoring system gives you great confidence that you will never lose them, even if they do go wandering where they shouldn’t. The Marco Polo monitoring and recovery system is an ideal solution for several reasons:

  • It works anywhere you need it to, requiring no GPS, cellular service or internet connection to function
  • It features rugged, waterproof and lightweight tags that range up to a distance of two miles
  • You can program ‘Safe Zones” to monitor your pet 24/7 and set them to alert you should they wander outside of your predetermined zone
  • Marco Polo monitoring and recovery systems also feature a long battery life, lasting up to 45 days between charges

No pet owner wants to focus on the real risk of losing their beloved pet, but sadly, it happens all too often. Investing in a monitoring device provides maximum peace of mind that you can track and recover them if they adventure too far.

Recovering your lost pet

If you have lost your pet before getting around to investing in an electronic monitoring and recovery system, it can feel understandably overwhelming as you struggle to manage your emotions whilst not knowing where they are and if they are safe.

Thanks to technological advancements and the internet, there are more ways than ever before to find your missing pet. The first few hours are crucial, as what you do in this time can greatly increase your chances of bringing them home.

Here are 11 things you can do to find your beloved lost cat or dog.

Bode The Cat
Marco Polo Works on Most Cats Too

1. Don’t panic

Ok, so this isn’t an actionable tip, but it’s important to discuss. Most cats and dogs can track scents that help them to find their way home, and the chances of them returning or otherwise finding them typically don’t diminish after the first 24 hours in the way that missing persons cases do. So, whilst you will be understandably worried, try to stay calm and think logically.

2. Visit nearby animal shelters

A good Samaritan may have found your pet and dropped it off at a local shelter, so start there and leave them your details. Many rescue organizations also run websites and social media pages upon which they regularly update any information regarding lost and found pets, so check those, too.

3. Contact local vets and use your pet’s microchip information

All veterinary clinics and some animal shelters use a cat’s or dog’s microchip information to trace their owners. It is always a good idea to get your pet microchipped as soon as you bring them home for the first time. Scanning their microchip will automatically bring up your contact details and your pet will be home with you in no time, so ensure that this information is kept up to date.

4. Contact a pet detective or other search-and-rescue professionals

These professionals are trained to understand the behaviors of missing pets and how to find them. They can show you exactly where to search, and help you to put a plan in place to give you the best chance of finding them. A simple google search will bring up the details of pet detectives in your area.

5. Start a lost-pet campaign

Losing a pet can feel devastating but you must try to think clearly and act quickly. One of the best ways to find a missing pet is to start a campaign, and call on your neighbors and friends to help.

Paste your pet’s photo with a brief description onto a piece of paper. Mention clearly the name/s your pet responds to and be clear about any distinctive features. Include your contact details and then make plenty of copies. Ideally, you need enough flyers to cover a one mile radius around the area they went missing.

Hand them out, stick them on posts or walls in all local high-pedestrian traffic areas and ask to place them in shop windows, too.

6. Go door-to-door

With your neighbors, friends and family in tow, while distributing your flyers, knock on some local doors to help spread the word, and ask anyone in to check any sheds or garages that your pet could have gotten themselves stuck inside of.

7. Reach out to the newspaper

Get your lost pet’s information and picture printed in any popular local newspapers and other publications that will allow it.

8. Using missing pet websites

Lost pet websites, like the Lost Dogs of America or Lost Found Pets US, can help you with reporting your pet as lost and may even be able to help you to find them. They can guide you towards the most appropriate lost-pet sites for your state, as well as provide other useful information, such as additional lost-pet strategies, missing flyer-placing rules and recovery stories.

9. Use social media

There are many social media groups and other resources to be found on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. They are usually free to use and report regularly on lost, missing and found pets. Nextdoor is another great platform to use for spreading important information regarding your lost pet.

10. Offer a reward

When distributing flyers or adding information to websites and social media platforms, you might consider offering a reward for the safe return of your missing pet. Whilst it might be unlikely that they have been purposely taken, it does happen, and either way, offering a reward can grab more people’s attention, making it more likely that they will spot your pet if they cross paths with it.

11. Be wary of lost pet-recovery scams

Unfortunately, not everyone is well-intentioned, and particularly if you are offering a reward, you must be somewhat cautious when being contacted about your missing pet.

Unless the person contacting you can describe identifying features of your pet that weren’t included in the flyers, or if they refuse to send a photo or insist that you wire them money first, be highly suspicious of a scam. Any well meaning person will gladly return your pet before expecting to receive any reward or payment, and many will even say that it isn’t necessary.

Final thoughts

Don’t give up! Even pets who have been missing for months have eventually been reunited with their owners. Expand your search area and repost on social media regularly to keep the awareness up.

To drastically improve your chances of finding a lost pet in the future, ensure that they are microchipped and wear a collar and identification tag with your contact details at all times. Even more effective still, consider investing in a tracking and recovery device, like Marco Polo Pet Monitoring, especially for pets who are prone to wandering.

Shop our pet tracking products here!

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Every Pet’s Best Friend – gadgetuser.com

Marco Polo Advanced Tracking System works great on big dogs.

Pets get wanderlust too; but sometimes too much wandering can lead to a lost pet. Marco Polo Pet Monitoring ensures the most reliable way of getting your pet safely back to youUnlike many pet monitoring devices, Marco Polo promises long-range tracking without the use of GPS, cellular service or WiFi! This ensures a more specific location tracking, especially in areas with no cell towers. Pet owners can have peace of mind knowing about their pets’ activities just through a simple press of a button.

Key features of Marco Polo Pet Monitoring:

  • Long-range tracking up to 3.22km With no cellular fees to pay or additional batteries to purchase, this is the most affordable tracking device in the market
  • Configure a ‘Safe Zone’ for your pet so that the device will notify you if your pet wanders past their usual boundary
  • This lightweight monitoring device is highly durable and water-resistant.
  • Spot might be your best friend, but you can never totally read your pet’s mind. Be it on a hiking trip, or just a nice day out, you never know if your pet has lost its way home. Marco Polo is the most reliable, durable and affordable solution for every pet and pet owner.

Click HERE to read the full gadgetuser review on their website.

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How Far Will Marco Polo Work?

Eastern Oregon terrain can make it tough to spot your wayward pet. Low vegetation and rolling hills with canyons are a challenge.

How Far? A frequent question, along with many others, which we address in our Pet FAQ’s. However, sometimes a customer’s photo and testimonial helps provide a better visual reference of the sort of range you might expect in a specific terrain.

Brian L. from Eastern Oregon says it a lot better than we can:

We deployed the tracker on our two wandering Brittanys, had to use it almost immediately.  We’re in open country, no timber, but lots of hills. Here’s some of the typical terrain we see out there (see photos – Eastern Oregon very different from Western Oregon.). My dogs disappear into the brush so easily – like I said, finding the dog, it saved me from having to call off a hunt.  The unit pinged her tag at about 20% -30%, signal getting stronger each time. Yet I couldn’t spot her, so I used binocs to glass the hillside that the signal was coming from, and found her.  She was about a half-mile away, across a gully, sitting on the road. Your tracker gave me decent enough of a vector (less than 90 degrees) that I knew where to generally look. Works fantastic. Definitely helps to understand about getting to high ground, exposing receiver to as much terrain as you can.  Good job on bringing this product to market. Works fantastic!
Also note the advantage Brian L. got by seeking higher ground when trying to search a large area with rolling terrain and ravines. Marco Polo does the hard work for you, but understanding some basic techniques will definitely improve the system’s ability to pick up your pet from longer ranges.

 

Eastern Oregon terrain can be rugged but with few trees.
Searching for a wandering pet in terrain such as this can be a challenge. Seek higher ground to gain the greatest possible coverage area. In this case, Brian L. reported over 1/2 mile range. In this terrain and foliage, spotting a pet would be nearly impossible without Marco Polo.

 

Two rambunctious Brittany Spaniels get a well-earned rest.
Brian L.’s Brittany Spaniels getting a well-earned rest after a big day out in the field. Brian L. uses Marco Polo to keep track of his rambunctious pups.

So what about the range in suburban conditions? Again, terrain, foliage and the like will have an influence on the range you might expect in typical suburban use, so your performance may vary from Brian L.’s experience. Not too long ago, our crack engineering team put together a real-life field test not far from our office. The following video should give you a pretty good idea what to expect in conditions similar to those shown.

Regardless of your local conditions, having an organized search plan is most important. A disorganized search plan may work, but an organized plan will drastically improve the odds of finding your wayward pet more quickly, and time is always of the essence in finding your pet. Here’s some general guidelines:

  1.  First, AND MOST IMPORTANT – practice, practice, practice. Learn how to use your system effectively BEFORE you need it. The time to learn is not after your pet has wandered off and you are anxious and worried about their safety. With experience coming from these practice sessions will come a level-headed search process and success instead of panic.
  2. Know your pet’s habits. Start in a location near where you last saw your pet. Most pets initially stay within an area they are familiar with. When it comes to chasing wildlife however, this may not be true. So knowing your pet’s habits is an important element to conducting a successful search.
  3. Where possible, find high ground to establish a connection with your pet’s tag and determine a general direction to refine your search.
  4. If you don’t receive a signal, move to another location, generally in a direction you believe your pet may have wandered. Remember, if your Marco Polo locator is not receiving a signal from your pet’s tag, you can reasonably assume your pet is not in the general vicinity.
  5. Give Marco Polo a minute or two to thoroughly search within a new location before determining your pet is not within that area, then move.
  6. Continue broadening your search pattern, widening the search using a box, grid or circular pattern of each surrounding area.
  7. Use a vehicle and have someone drive while using the handheld Marco Polo locator. This will help you cover a larger area more quickly and safely.
  8. Once you establish a connection with your pet’s tag, follow the arrow on the handheld locator. You may receive confusing directions due to signal reflections off structures, hills, etc. Follow the arrows pointing you in the most consistent direction. The signal level will increase as you get closer, even if the arrow direction is occasionally inconsistent. A consistently lower signal level as shown on the handheld locator is also an indication you are moving in the wrong direction.

Search while driving around – Here’s another video our awesome engineering team produced to demonstrate the “driving around” approach to conducting a search plan. They should have checked with our risk prevention department before doing this, because they would have been told to have two people in the car, one to drive and one to monitor the handheld Locator. We recommend you follow this safe practice when driving and do not allow the search process to distract you from safe driving. Nevertheless, this is an effective way to cover a large area while searching for your pet.

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Marco Polo Tracking Tag Comparisons

Newest generation of Marco Polo Tag Types (clockwise from top left): Advanced Pet Tag, Ultralight Tag, Advanced Drone Tag (note mounting tabs on side of case)

CompatibilityWe get a lot of questions about the compatibility of the various Marco Polo tracking tags and handheld locators we’ve produced over the years. Here’s a few examples of the questions we get:

  • “I have an older tag and handheld locator I bought several years ago. If I buy one of the new tags for my system will they work together?”
  • “I recently bought a tag for my drone. Now I am thinking about getting one for my dog, do they work with the same handheld locator?”
  • “Will both the ultralight and the advanced tags work with the system I got for my drone?”

In all cases, the answer is YES! There have been a total of 5 versions of Marco Polo Tracking Tags made over the years, with 3 types in current production today. All of them work with every Marco Polo Handheld Locator ever made. If it says “Marco Polo” on it, it is going to work.

We have continued to make improvements in the tracking tags that work with your Marco Polo locator to allow a greater range of applications and increased durability. Here’s a rundown on the newest generation of Marco Polo tracking tags:

  • The Ultralight Drone Recovery Tag provides 30% greater battery life than the original design. It is easier to mount to your drone because it has a flatter bottom and all the controls on top for easier access when mounted. All in the same 12 gram package to allow for use on smaller drones.
  • The Advanced Drone Recovery Tag puts the same capabilities of the Ultralight tag into a waterproof (IP67 submersible), crushproof, polycarbonate enclosure. The new style tag can attach to a drone, rocket or fixed-wing aircraft in a variety of ways, including a clip-in mount, which makes moving the tag between aircraft a quick and simple operation.
  • The Advanced Pet Monitoring and Tracking Tag replaces the original “Classic” pet tag with a unit that is half the size and weight of the older generation. It is attaches tightly to the pet’s collar, giving a much better fit for smaller pets and because it is less obtrusive when mounted on the collar it helps avoid snags that might harm your pet or damage the tag. The Advanced tag is waterproof for prolonged swimming.

The photo below shows the newest generation of Marco Polo Tracking Tags currently being sold.

 

Newest generation of Marco Polo Tag Types (clockwise from top left): Advanced Pet Tag, Ultralight Tag, Advanced Drone Tag (note mounting tabs on side of case)
Newest generation of Marco Polo Tag Types (clockwise from top left): Advanced Pet Tag, Ultralight Tag, Advanced Drone Tag (note mounting tabs on side of case). These tags will work with ALL handheld locators we have ever produced.

The following photo shows the earlier generation of Marco Polo Tracking Tags. These tags are no longer available.

Older generation of Marco Polo Tag Types: (L) "Classic" Pet Tag, (R) Ultralight Tag. These are no longer available.
Older generation of Marco Polo Tag Types: (L) “Classic” Pet Tag, (R) Ultralight Tag. These tags are no longer available.

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Finding A Drone In A Tree Using Azimuth Readings

Deep Forest With Lost Drone

Great Tip!If you have tested the tracking function of your Marco Polo Drone Recovery System, or used it to recover a lost drone, rocket or RC Airplane, then you know what an invaluable tool it can be. Something that you may not be aware of is the ability to locate a tracking tag that is lodged in a tree!

Imagine you crashed your drone (ok, nobody actually crashes so let’s call it an “unintentional landing”) in a forested area. You’ve used the Marco Polo system to track your drone into the forest. You may eventually come to a place where you have a very high signal level on the locator but you are receiving either no bearing indications or confusing readings. You know your drone is close by, but where is it? It’s possible your aircraft is above you in the tree canopy but impossible to see.

So now what? Simple, you do is something we warn you NEVER to do during a normal ground search – hold the locator pointing straight up as though you were looking into a hand mirror. Now, instead of measuring azimuth about the horizon, it is measuring the elevation angle in the plane of the LCD display. To find the point that is directly under the tracking tag, pick a direction to face, let’s say North. Now, step sideways with the bottom of the locator facing north and the plane of the LCD being East and West. Move sideways, East or West until the directional arrow points straight up. Now, turn to face 90 degrees to the original direction, let’s say West. Now move sideways North and South until the arrow points straight up again. You might turn North again to see if you need to correct your position. When you get to the point where the arrow points straight up when facing North and West, then you are directly under the tag.

This sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. We recommend you practice this technique a few times to become familiar with the steps outlined above, especially if you plan on flying around trees or other objects where your drone could “unintentionally land”  high off the ground.

Testing Marco Polo to Determine Azimuth
Here’s how we tested the setup: (1) Attached a Marco Polo tag to some helium filled balloons; (2) Sent the tag aloft with a few hundred feed of monofilament line attached to a fishing rod.

 

Using Marco Polo To Get An Elevation Display
Imagine your drone is stuck in a tree, but which one? This is how you would find it. (1) With the tag aloft, the Marco Polo locator is held as shown. The arrow will then point vertically in the direction of the tag; (2) You move around to get multiple readings to “triangulate” the azimuth readings and zero in on the tree where the drone is.

There may be other times when an elevation reading is useful. In the attached photo a Marco Polo tag was suspended from helium balloons and the elevation tracked. Imagine that this was a descending rocket, or a drone that crashed on the side of a cliff and you would like to know if it is near the top or bottom of the cliff. You will find your own uses now that you have started to think of the directional display in 3 dimensions!

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Extend The Battery Charge On Your Pet’s Tracking Tag

A cute terrier with Marco Polo Advanced Tracking Coller

Great Tip!Did you know that using the Monitor mode on the Marco Polo handheld locator can make the battery charge on your pet’s collar tag last up to 3 times longer? Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Well that’s an “under the hood” design feature of the Marco Polo system done by our really clever engineers. It’s a pretty handy feature, but unfortunately most customers don’t even know about. We’re thinking once you’ve learned about it and how it can make your Marco Polo experience even better, you will want to use it.

Longer lasting battery charges on the pet’s tracking collar might be a great reason for keeping your Marco Polo System in Monitor mode, but it’s not the only one. Whenever your system is in Monitor mode:

  1. The locator will warn you if the battery is low on any pet tracking tag. Remember, Marco Polo can continuously monitor up to 3 pets. So a low battery on any one will alert you to the need to recharge the tag.
  2. In addition to checking the battery status, the system is continually checking for any faults in the locator and each tag, so you can have confidence that everything is working correctly and is ready to immediately track your pet when you need it most.
  3. You will receive an alarm if any monitored pet wanders outside the “safe zone” you have selected for them.
  4. And as mentioned in the lead-in to this article, the battery charge on the pet tracking tags will last up to 3x longer. Again, this seems counterintuitive, right? How can the system be doing more, yet using less of the tag’s battery power? Well we said it was clever – trust us, it is clever and it does reduce the tag’s battery use.

Those are some very compelling reasons to program your Marco Polo Locator for your pet’s “safe zone” and keep the system in Monitor Mode when not tracking a wayward pet.

So how to take full advantage of all the benefits of this feature? Here’s a few simple steps to take:

  1. Turn the handheld Locator on and program the Marco Polo Locator’s “safe zone” feature for each pet tag (or keep the default setting of Medium to start with). For more detailed information and setup instructions, refer to the user manual, pages 16-20. If you have misplaced the user manual, you can go here to download another copy.
  2. Charge the pet’s tag, and when fully charged put it on your pet.
  3. Put it in Monitor Mode. Unless you need to track a wayward pet, leave the Locator in Monitor Mode at all times.
  4. Keep the Locator plugged into the charger. Don’t worry, keeping the Locator turned on and plugged into the charger will not harm the battery. That’s another “under the hood” design the clever engineers at Marco Polo figured out.

That’s all there is to it! If the Locator never gives you an alert (i.e. not “beeping”) everything is fine. No alert means that the entire system is working, the batteries are adequately charged in the Locator AND your pets tags and all your monitored pets are inside their programmed “safe zone”. If you do hear an alert, it is time to check for low battery indications on the pet’s tags, or to see if your pet has wandered outside the “safe zone”.

With Marco Polo on the job, you’ll never need to do a head count of your pets when you come home, and you’ll never again  take a nap with one eye open just to make certain your pets are OK.

Marco Polo and monitor mode – you can relax and have peace of mind knowing that Marco Polo is on the job.

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Trackers For Drones Reviewed – droneflytech.com

droneflytech.com logo

 

When I first bought my drone, I started looking into different drone tracking systems that could accurately pinpoint and track my new drone. This all led me on a journey that has really taught me a lot about drone tracking technology and the devices associated with it. When it comes to drone tracking, the Marco Polo drone tracker is only one of many different types of devices that can be utilized to track your drone.

 

Click HERE to read the full review on the droneflytech.com website.

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Phantom II Recovery With Marco Polo

Phantom Recovery with Marco Polo

 

Rich M. says: “So it’s 1.5 miles from home and last seen over the river. Not much hope in finding it but might as well take a drive with the Marco Polo tracker out the car window. After 5 minutes of driving I hear a beep on the Marco Pole and have a 17% signal. I pull over and get a direction pointer. Drive that direction and 35%, 50% and at 72% I run into this (dense woods loaded with poison ivy). I really don’t want to do this, but Marco Polo says its close and gives me the direction. About 40 ft. off the pavement I almost stepped on it! No Damage! All my aircraft have Marco Polo tracking devices mounted to them and my flight bag always contains a locator. I never fly without Marco Polo!

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UAV America Picks Marco Polo Tracker

Image of Matt from UAV America

Matt from UAV America talks about events that led up to choosing Marco Polo to protect their investment in their drones. “A few weeks ago we were on a mapping mission…I programmed the mission wrong and flew the plane right into a tree. We searched and never found it, but that got us thinking … So, we searched for solutions and found Marco Polo.” On a spring day in New Hampshire, Matt from UAV American puts the Marco Polo Drone Recovery System to the test. “If you like to crash like me, it can find your machine.”