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Call Kurtis: New Ways Technology Can Help Find Your Pet

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — We can hit a button to find our lost phone on a map. Now there is technology that can help us recover our lost dogs and cats.

Pet parents can feel heartbroken when their beloved family pet runs off, is lost or stolen.

Sally Butters felt the loss of her toy poodle, Gigi when she was stolen nearly a decade ago.

"There was no trace of her until now, this lady's daughter found her on the street in Roseville," said Butters.

After several years, someone found Gigi 30 miles away. They checked to see if she was microchipped, when it came back a hit, they called Butters up to say they found her dog.

"I never expected it. I thought she would be dead," said Butters.

Now new technology can pinpoint your pet in real time, locating your pet's whereabouts right on a map.

Emily Hurrle with Paby knows that losing a pet can be painful.

"I think everyone knows someone who lost a pet at one point in their life and it's devastating," she said.

Paby just came out with a GPS tracker for pets; it's an $80 device that attaches to your dog or cat's collar. For as little as $4.99, a month cell technology tracks your pet and alerts you if they leave a virtual fence area. To work your pet must be within cell range, and the battery has to be charged every three days.

Hurrle says, "If we could have an unlimited battery that never expired, trust me, we'd find a way. But unfortunately, the technology is not that advanced yet."

Paby says their device sends reminders when the battery is low, and it takes about 90-minutes to charge.

She recommends taking your pet's collar off every night to charge it.

A competitor The Whistle offers a similar service. The device costs $80, and the service is as low as $6.95 a month.

Another product Pawtracker has a battery that will last you up to 10 days if you set it to check on your pet just once an hour.
Pawtracker's device cost $99 plus $9.95 per month.

This technology was not around when Gigi went missing, but a good old-fashioned microchip helped bring her home to Butters.

"I'm very very happy. Very happy to be able to see her again," said Butters. "It's just a joy it's just a miracle."

With battery fires in many consumer products, we asked Paby how could we be sure they will not overheat.

They claim there is a special breaker in their product that if it gets too hot, the equipment shuts off.

These devices might not work on a pet that chews up or takes off their collar.

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