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Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide for dogs

If you have a dog with a penchant for running away, the Retrieva collar might be of interest to you. I remember interviewing a representative of the company at Crufts 2008 and thinking what a well thought out product it was. Not only does it let you track your dog, it is tamper proof, and will withstand water should your dog take a swim while wearing it.

So not only will it help if your dog simply wanders off, but it should help cut down on the number of dogs stolen. And that can only be a good thing.

So if your dog’s recall isn’t up to scratch, you want to protect him from thieves, or you’re still looking for a Christmas present for him, check out the information below.

Take care,

Julie x

RUNAWAY POOCHES A THING OF THE PAST

Retrieva and Orange to launch new phone-based tracking product, saving time and worry searching for lost and stolen dogs

London, 03 December 2008: The days of trekking across fields and rummaging in the bushes for your lost dog are over. Retrieva is working with Orange to launch the unique Retrieva Tracking and Anti-theft collar.

According to the Missing Pets Bureau, nearly 2,500 dogs were lost or stolen every week in 2007. The Retrieva collar will help combat this through its instant tracking and alert system linked directly to your mobile phone.

Fed up with their mischievous canines roaming too far and the increasing number of dogs being stolen, the founders of Retrieva have developed a solution to instantly locate your dog by linking a Retrieva collar to your mobile phone to show its position. Now there is no need to access a computer to see where your dog is. The solution is portable, quick and easy. Included with the Retrieva system is the Retrieva collar, the ICyou™ home guard system and the sophisticated phone-based ViewRanger mapping solution.

All you need to do is open the mapping application on your phone and request the collar’s location, which will then appear live on the map. What’s more if your phone is GPS enabled you will also be able to plot your location relative to that of your dog – making your beloved pooch that much easier to find.

The collar has an Orange SIM embedded inside it and uses three technologies; GPS, GSM and Radio Frequency to track the dog. The three technologies ensure an overlapping and reinforced system to monitor and track your dog. The collar takes advantage of the comprehensive Orange network, which provides high quality GSM coverage to 99 per cent of the UK population. The strength of the network means that dog owners can be confident that there will be sufficient mobile reception to trace their dogs.

The collar works with the ICyou, a portable smart base station which sits in the home and doubles as the recharging unit for the collar. The ICyou is an automated monitoring system that will alert you if the dog leaves home unexpectedly. The Retrieva collar also has anti-theft and waterproof features. These include cut-proof technology in the collar webbing so that if anyone tries to tamper with the lock, or cut the collar, the collar will send you a text message to let you know. The collar is also waterproof so that even the best canine swimmers can enjoy themselves without damaging the collar.

“The partnership between Retrieva and Orange takes full advantage of the technology we’re able to provide” stated Anthony Keyworth, director of products, Orange Business. “We’re delighted to work with Retrieva and continue to innovate the way in which communications technology is used and help find all those lost dogs!”

Other functions include a panic alarm, though not for the dog! Recognising that dog walkers are often alone in remote areas, this button is for people who feel uncomfortable or threatened whilst out with their dog. Pressing this button sends an alert message to any numbers programmed into the collar whilst also putting the collar into track mode so that your location can be found.

“As dog owners and dog lovers, we understand how upsetting it can be when you lose your dog, no matter what length of time,” said Jon Bryan, co-founder of Retrieva. “We knew there had to be an easier way to find your dog than the current solutions available and so decided to develop the collar system. This is an innovative product which will give owners peace of mind about their dogs’ whereabouts and safety. The product combines the very best tracking technology with the award winning ViewRanger mapping system and the extensive Orange GSM network coverage. We wanted to put answers straight into owner’s hands and that is what we have done.”

“We’re delighted to be involved with this pioneering product,” said Craig Wareham, co-founder of Augmentra, the company behind ViewRanger. “ViewRanger is already popular as a navigation product used by outdoors enthusiasts, so we are thrilled to work with Retrieva to link our software with their collar system. I hope that between us we will see the end of all those ‘lost dog’ posters.”

The eagerly anticipated system will soon be launched in the UK and costs £9.99 a month to operate, plus a one off charge of £250 for the package of one collar, the ICyou unit and the ViewRanger off-road phone mapping system. For further information on Retrieva, Tracking and Anti-theft collar and product pricing please go to www.retrievatracking.com/

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