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Could GPS Keep Tabs On Your Pets?

Posted by samzenpus on from the lassie-tracking dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google Latitude has already made headlines for allowing phone users to locate their friends, and there are countless other iPhone and Android phone apps already designed to transmit your location — but could pets be the next big thing in GPS tracking? A number of device manufacturers are marketing GPS technology as a futuristic tool for tracking your cat or dog, and even discovering exactly where they've been. These devices are sold under a number of names and brands, including Sportdog, LoCATor, RoamEO, Petcell, Zoombak and Pettrack."

1 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. Get a leash! by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you love your dog or cat, keep it on a leash outdoors. Being able to track it down when it's road kill, or frozen to death and chewed up by a snowblower, isn't being a good owner.

    Just off the top of my head, my dogs and I have come across:

    • a small dog that was frozen to death against a fence; 2 days after, the kids who owned it asked me if I had seen it - I had to lie to them and say I hadn't;
    • lots of cats frozen to death in snowbanks, where they crawl to try to get out of the wind;
    • cats with their guts all over the place because passing cars ran over them;
    • stray dogs that are hungry and scared;
    • cats with their backs broken;
    • lots of "have you seen this cat" posters (there are 2 different ones up right now on a single street);

    GPS doesn't "fix" any of this. Letting your pets wander around is no more "humane" than letting a toddler run around. Putting a cat on a leash is no less practical than putting a dog on a leash; the only difference is that, if both a cat and a dog are picked up by the pound, the cat is a lot more likely to be put down (here, half of all dogs put up for adoption find homes compared to only 10% of all cats).

    Also, your neighbours aren't exactly thrilled with your cats running around, killing birds, digging up gardens and flowers, and howling at all hours of the night. Or your dogs running around chasing people.

    Put a leash on it. It's cheaper than a GPS, and it can save your pets' life.