As the number of missing pets increases over the years, shelters continue to get overpopulated leading to a rise in the cases of euthanasia as well. Truly distressing to any pet owner is the possibility of his beloved pet going missing or even worse being stolen.

Over the years various methods have been devised to curb lost or stolen pets. Thanks to advancements in science, pets can now be monitored with the use of GPS dog collar and satellite technology. The same technology applied so far to vehicles and telecommunications is now being applied to track and locate missing pets.

In the forefront of popularizing this technology has been Securus. Securus has long since been focused on deploying GPS-enabled solutions for the Safety and Security market. In a bid to reduce the number of lost and missing pets each year, Securus has launched products for the pet market in partnership with American Kennel Club Companion Animal Recovery such as the SpotLight GPS Dog Trackers (and SpotLite, its value-priced counterpart).

The SpotLight GPS Pet Locator is a lightweight, water-resistant, sturdy device that attaches on to your dog's collar. It has a rechargeable battery and is equipped with a powerful LED beacon to help spot your dog even in the dark. Using advanced satellite technology and Google Maps, SpotLight allows you to monitor your pet’s movements in real time. It allows you to create pre-determined areas or SafeSpots. These could include your home, vacation spot, local dog park, and neighborhood. As soon as your dog moves out of these areas, you are sent an alert via phone or email. This allows you to know your pet’s movements around the clock. Now in case your dog does “escape” or gets stolen, you will be informed immediately and you can take the necessary steps to find him as soon as possible. In the case of theft, your dog is most likely to be whisked away in a vehicle. The speed with which the device is moving will let you know if your pet has been stolen or has merely wandered off and gotten lost. This information will also indicate how fast your pet is traveling and in which direction. In many instance, stolen pets are also dumped far away from their neighborhood. In such cases, if someone else finds your pet, there is a “Rescue” button on the SpotLight device. Once this button is pressed, it informs you of your dog’s location. Once you receive such information, you can contact your local authorities and retrieve him as soon as possible.

SpotLight has also partnered with AKC CAR and provides access to their 24-hour helpline. When your dog goes missing or gets stolen, you can call 1-888-Dog-Loc8 and will be attended to by a trained professional, who will walk you through the process of tracking and locating your beloved pet!