PETSAVER, a new application that helps owners find their lost pets or unwanted strays find a home, will be available in Cyprus as of tomorrow. The brains behind the application is Dinos Pastos, a computer scientist who developed his idea with the help of Focus-on Group Cyprus.
What drove Pastos to develop PetSaver is his love for animals, himself an owner of seven cats and a dog, and his wish to help owners find their lost pets, but also to help save unwanted strays. “I’m the kind of person who will stop in the street to pick up a stray,” Pastos told the Cyprus Mail. “The idea derives from the problem we face in Cyprus which is lack of coordination,” he said.
The last few years, he said, the numbers of strays have increased and it is only volunteers and private individuals who take it upon themselves to do something about it, but coordination is needed to make their efforts more successful. “For example, how many times are Facebook announcements of dogs lost in Paphos forwarded by people living in Nicosia? It is the people who live in the same area where the dog was lost that should be notified,” he said.
Facebook, Pastos said, doesn’t promote all the posts a person makes to everyone, so it is not certain that all friends see your posts. The application will alert residents of specific areas every time a new post was made on missing pets in their area. “When someone makes a post that he or she lost their pet, app users in the same area will be informed to keep an eye out,” he said. “Initially, we will notify people by district but at a later stage we will expand to include areas within districts”.
Users, he said, will be able to post in four different categories, for those who lost their pets, those who found strays, those seeking adoption or foster home for unwanted strays, and to post alerts in cases of poisonings in specific areas.
“In the case of lost pets, owners will be able to post the animal’s photo, description and relevant information, like the colour of its collar, etc. Other in the same area will be immediately notified,” Pastos said. He added that the same procedure will apply for those who found strays and want to post their photo to help locate their owners. “There will also be a section where photos of strays will be posted, seeking for adoption or foster homes, and another section where users will be able to alert others in the same area for poisonings or animal abuse incidents,” Pastos said.
He added that several dog shelters are already enthusiastic about the app as they believe it would be of great help. “I encourage shelters to post all their dogs looking for a home on the application,” he said. If a shelter has many dogs for adoption, he said, they can post all of them on the app. But individuals who may have found a stray and are trying to find it a home in case they can’t keep it, can use PetSaver too.
For Pastos, the app’s success lies in the number of users and their active participation. “I believe that when we work together as a team, we are in a position to solve most of our problems,” Pastos said. “It is important for all users to inform their contacts to use it too, so that the network grows. If I post something but no one sees it, then what’s the use?”
PetSaver is expected to be available – free of charge – on the Google app store on May 1, and at a later date, also within May, on App store.
Interested parties may register through the application’s website to receive an alert when it will be available: http://www.petsavercy.com/
