After a weekend away, we return home to that sinking feeling – one of our two dogs isn’t there to greet us.
Ava, the dog who wouldn’t wander even if the front door was open, is looking anxious.
Her mate Maggie is not in the house. We quickly check the side gates, sure enough one of them is open.
On our way home, we had already pulled over for a small dog on the road. We managed to pick it up and find its owners.
Coming into our estate, my wife caught a glimpse of a dog that looked remarkably like Maggie in the yard of a woman down the road.
We quickly jump in the car and head back to that home. And yes, Maggie is there enjoying the food and hospitality of strangers.
Maggie is our ‘adopted’ dog and we’ve lost her more times than we would like to admit.
We have lost Ava once – when she was charged by a dog at our local park and bolted.
We found her about 20 minutes later waiting at home at the top of the driveway.
So when the opportunity came to put a tracking device on Ava and Maggie, we jumped at it.
Life360, which is well known for its family safety features, recently extended the range to pets.
And given how much our furry friends cost us, including in food and pet bills, it’s arguably a good investment, particularly if you have a wanderer.
The tracker, which is linked to the Life360 app, is simply attached to your dog collar. It is small enough that it doesn’t cause any discomfort.
Even Ava, who is more particular about what we put on her, wasn’t bothered by it.
The battery, which lasts about 14 days, is charged via USB.
The tag is also water resistant up to a metre so it can get wet but long term immersion (swimming etc) is not recommended.
The battery also has a reserve mode which allows you to extend use up to six months by reducing active tracking.
You can set up a pet profile for each animal with a photo, information and emergency contacts.
You can set and save custom safe zones to track your pet’s routine and get escape alerts when they leave their geofence zones.
Once you’ve enabled tracking, which includes location history of yourself (via the phone) and your pet, you can view the last known locations of your pet directly from the Life360 map with updates provided every three to five seconds.
We tested it by putting both dogs in the car and driving off.
A few minutes into our journey, we are pinged with notifications they have left our home.
The devices also have a light and a sound can be set off to help find them.
We found the alarm sound to be a little quiet, especially if you are in a busy environment with lots of traffic noise.
You can also view up to 30 days of your pet’s past movements which might be useful if you want to see their favourite places to escape to.
Life360 is also promoting creating a ‘Pet Finder Network’ where fellow Life360 users can be notified if your pet is missing to help bring them home faster. You can choose to opt in or out.
SLAIN TEEN’S MOTHER ON LIFE360 TRACKING
Life360, of course, goes far beyond pet tracking.
It’s being used by parents everywhere, keen to keep track of their children, something that the mother of Pheobe Bishop urged, after her daughter was allegedly murdered.
Pheobe’s mum Kylie Johnson wanted all parents to download the Life360 app – a phone-tracking service that shows the location of shared devices and indicates whether a phone is switched off or has run out of battery.
It also provides a report on your driving, including speeding, heavy braking, rapid acceleration and phone use while driving.
Checking my driving history was a good reminder to slow down, especially where speed zones change.
It uses phone sensors to detect major collisions and can automatically notify those in your circle or emergency services.
You can also send SOS Alerts: a silent help signal with your precise location to your circle and emergency responders if you feel unsafe.
The Life360 Pet GPS can comes in black or pink punch and retails for $89.
The annual Life360 gold membership costs A$159.99 a year which is billed monthly as just over $13.
Given we spent $500 at the vet last week for a basic check-up for both dogs, it’s a smart investment, particularly if you have a dog prone to escaping and a teenage driver in the household.
