Hello, Rover? Get home this instant
Charles Mandel, For CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Lassie Come Home could soon become Lassie Phone Home if a Vancouver company has its way.
On4 Communications Inc. plans to release PetCell, a waterproof, voice-enabled GPS cellphone for dogs, in early 2006.
The bone-shaped phone is aimed at the roving Rover market, enabling pet owners to contact their straying pets and quickly track them down.
"This eliminates a lot of the anxiety when someone's pet goes missing. I'm sure we've all driven around and seen the missing posters. It's quite heart-breaking," said Robbie Dick, ON4's vice-president of sales.
"Wouldn't it be great if Fido took off, for example, (you could) whip out your cellphone and punch in the co-ordinates and -- bingo! -- you're tracking him within five metres of where he is."
Since Dec. 31, 2004, 9.7 million pets have gone missing across North America.
The device -- which will retail for about $350; call plans and roaming charges are still to be determined -- attaches to a dog collar and has two pre-programmed buttons. If someone finds one of the cellphone-bearing animals, they can press the buttons to reach the pet's owner. One button calls the dog owner's home. The other contacts the owner's cellphone.
Owners can also call their dogs with PetCell. The phone is set up to recognize only the numbers the owner enters, so the dogs can remain untroubled by wrong numbers and telemarketers.
Still, the question remains: Why would you call Bowser? Won't the conversation be limited?
Dick says people with new pets often fret about leaving them alone at home. He says he has friends who phone their home voice-answering machine to assure their dog they'll be returning.
"This would be the same kind of thing, only it's not on your home phone. It would be on his device. They can talk to the animal and allay any anxiety it has."
While dogs aren't going to be downloading ringtones or music videos to their cellphones any time soon, PetCell does come with a number of neat features.
The phone is equipped with a "geo fence capability" that alerts owners if the dog leaves the yard. And it has a temperature sensor, so if owners leave their pooch in the car, they can tell whether the animal is becoming too hot or cold.
A 1999 study from the University of Guelph, the first done on the Canadian pet industry, shows animal owners spend $3 billion annually on food, vet services and accessories.
Even so, those who work with stray dogs say On4 may be barking up the wrong tree.
Sharon Miko, outreach manager with the Ottawa Humane Society, says while any effort to increase pet identification is welcome, she believes old-fashioned dog collars and tags, as well as an electronic microchip implanted under the animal's skin, should be the owners' priority.
Dick notes the cellphone technology won't be limited to dogs. Down the road, the company plans to introduce a similar phone for kids, Alzheimer's patients and outdoor recreational users.
And although cats won't be chatting it up on their own cellphones any time soon, Dick says On4 does have other plans for branching out.