New website makes searching for lost pets easier

TAMPA (FOX 13) - If you lose your pet, there’s a more convenient way to find them in Hillsborough County.

The Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center just launched a new online kennel system called ADOPT this week that regularly updates what animals are in its kennels.

You can go straight to your phone or computer to see if your cat or dog was picked up by searching for something as basic as your pet’s name or breed. It also updates with information about whether a pet is still available for adoption.

“I went on the website and they had a bunch of kitties for adoption, and one caught my eye. But when I got here, she was gone,” said Ariane Perez, a cat owner who is looking for a second cat for her daughter.

The Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center said that won’t be a problem anymore.

“It updates every 15 minutes. So that way if a pet comes in overnight and one of our officers has maybe found it or it comes in in the morning, within 15 minutes that pet's information will be online,” said Lauryn Postiglione, of the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center.

The technology catalogs every cat and dog within its walls with a photo, name and more in its profile, and it’s all searchable. If you lose your pet and it gets picked up, the technology provides an easy way to find them.

“If your dog got out and they're microchipped or tagged, they would go into our system as a stray,” said Postiglione.

Once you hit the main page, you can search by breed and age, medical history and more. That’s information that matters if you’re looking for a lost pet or to adopt one.

“Whether it's an owner surrender and they've given us behavior notes, whether it's housebroken, like to play with toys,” said Postiglione.

Pet owners looking to add to their family said it’s helpful.

“Because if you already have in mind the age group you want, you can just type in the filter and your list will pop up and you can just choose. So it makes the process easier,” said Perez.

Animal shelter workers said people used to have to wait for all of that information in person. But now, they can search for it all online and cut down on their time. You can find the link to the website at www.hcflgov.net/adopt.