It's an empty and frightening feeling when someone loses their pet, and it can be difficult to track your dog down.
So a Brevard County group, AnimalRescue.com, has developed a new GPS-based QR-code system called a "Q-Tag" that stores a pet's information and allows them to be tracked with a cell phone.
If a dog gets lost — and someone finds her — that person can use their smart phone to access a website with all the dog's details.
AnimalRescue.com gave Brevard Animal Services 500 Q-Tags.
Titusville's Shayna Westlake went out of town a week ago, and when she returned, her beloved dog, 9-year-old Ramsey, had gotten out of the house.
"It was a horrible feeling. He is my child," Westlake said.
Fortunately for Westlake, someone found Ramsey and was going around her neighborhood with a picture of the dog. The neighbor found out Ramsey was brought to the Brevard Animal Services south shelter, where after a few days, a happy reunion took place.
But that's not always the case.
Take the story of Faith — a year ago, she was found badly hurt in a Palm Bay ditch after being hit by a car. Her back legs were hurt, and it's thought she was on the streets for at least a month. She was fitted with a special two-wheeled cart and fortunately has made a full recovery.
Faith was microchipped, but it had stopped working. She likely wouldn't have been on the street that long if she had an animalrescue.com tag.
"Her owner would have gotten a GPS location of where she was scanned," AnimalRescue.com's Kristin Livan said.
"We're able to take that dog right back to their owner and get it back immediately," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
Ramsey received the first of Brevard Animal Services' donated Q-Tags — in case he gets out again.