Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles and VCA Animal Hospitals Launch Finding Rover’s Revolutionary Facial Recognition Technology to Identify Lost Pets

Industry partnership now makes advanced CSI techniques available for
pets

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA)
and VCA Animal Hospital’s unveiled a new partnership with Finding Rover
that has the ability to help reunite more lost dogs with their family by
using CSI techniques usually reserved for humans. Finding Rover’s
innovative facial recognition for pets can be used on a smartphone
through the app or on the web and is 98 percent accurate in matching
lost and found dog reports.

“A dog is a beloved family member, and if he or she goes missing, it can
be devastating to everyone involved,” said John Polimeno, CEO and
founder of Finding Rover. “We want to do everything in our ability to
reunite more lost dogs with their families. Registering a dog on Finding
Rover is another step all owners should take to further protect their
cherished pet. Hopefully this technology will soon become added to other
tools pet owners and shelters utilize to identify dogs.”

spcaLA is now fully integrated with this technology, which allows
worried pet parents to search the shelter for their missing dog right
from the Finding Rover app or website. Every dog that enters the spcaLA
facility becomes automatically registered with facial recognition on
Finding Rover. Users can view and favorite adoptable dogs, as well.

“If facial recognition technology can work for the FBI, why not our lost
pets?” said Madeline Bernstein, spcaLA President. “spcaLA has always
been on the forefront of new technologies for animal welfare. This
venture strives to reunite lost pets using the most powerful tools we
have – advanced technology and human compassion.”

“We are very excited about this new partnership between spcaLA, Finding
Rover and VCA that brings the latest technology for the benefit of pets
and their families. We want to do everything we can to bring back lost
dogs to their loving families,” said Bob Antin, Chief Executive Officer,
VCA Inc. “We believe that pet facial recognition technology can
have beneficial applications in veterinary medicine and look forward to
future possibilities for pet parents that are brought about by this
partnership.”

As the exclusive veterinary partner of Finding Rover, VCA Animal
Hospitals is providing top-quality pet health care tips through the
“Health Tips by VCA Pack” on Finding Rover to deliver valuable
information for pet parents to enhance the quality of life for family
pets. Future integration with veterinary services are already in
development and will further enhance pet health and safety.

Key benefits of using Finding Rover include:

• Simple to register: Registration is easy
  through Facebook and e-mail – all you need is a picture of your dog
  and a zip code.
• Easy to use: Anyone with a mobile phone
  can take a photo of a lost dog, which will be instantly posted on
  Finding Rover.
• Technologically advanced: Finding Rover
  spent two years with The University of Utah research and development
  (R&D) department creating its proprietary facial recognition
  technology. Finding Rover has the only technology that instantly
  recognizes a dog on the spot.
• Social: Finding Rover unites dog owners
  based on common interests and provides a forum for users to read up on
  the latest dog news, share content and interact.
• Free! Finding Rover is free to download
  and use.

About Finding Rover

Finding Rover uses facial recognition technology to identify lost and
found dogs in real time from a smartphone or computer. The app and
website features a lost and found dog notification system that sends a
push notification and social-feed photo-alert to users within a 10-mile
radius. When a user spots a lost dog, he/she can take a photo either
within the app or upload a photo from a device’s photo album. When a dog
has been found and identified through Finding Rover’s facial recognition
software, the finder will receive information on how to notify the
owner. More information is available at www.findingrover.com.

About spcaLA

Since 1877, spcaLA has been the premiere independent, nonprofit animal
welfare organization serving Southern California. There is no national
SPCA, parent organization, or umbrella group that provides financial
support to spcaLA. Donations run programs and services, including
Cruelty Investigation, Disaster Animal Response Team, Humane Education,
and a variety of shelter services. Visit www.spcala.com
for more details.

About VCA Animal Hospitals

VCA Animal Hospitals operates 679 small animal veterinary hospitals in
the U.S. and Canada. The hospitals are staffed by more than 4,000 fully
qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians to give pets the
very best in medical care, of which over 400 are board-certified
specialists who are experts in areas such as Oncology, Cardiology,
Emergency & Critical Care, and Surgery for animals. VCA Animal Hospitals
provides a full range of general practice services to keep pets well and
specialized treatments when pets are ill. For more information, please
visit www.VCAhospitals.com
or follow on Twitter @vcapethealth.

Contacts

spcaLA
Ana Bustilloz, 323-730-5300 x252
c. 323-707-1271
abustilloz@spcala.com
or
VCA
Animal Hospitals
Agnes Huff, 310-902-8131
ahuff@ahuffgroup.com
or
Finding
Rover
Brandi Blankenship, 949-212-0744
BrandiB@FindingRover.com