LULING — The St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter is using facial recognition technology to identify lost dogs and cats.

The technology is an additional tool the shelter will use to help lost and adoptable dogs and cats find their forever home.

Now every dog and cat that enters the parish’s shelter system becomes registered on the free app, Finding Rover. Users of Finding Rover can search the shelter and surrounding areas from their smartphone or computer in efforts to find their missing pet, a neighbor’s missing pet, the family of a found pet, or search for adoptable animals.

Every dog and cat that leaves the parish’s shelter, through a reunion or an adoption, can remain protected on Finding Rover when the pet parent registers on the app with the same email address on file at the shelter.

If that dog or cat ever gets lost, their record will already be in the system, and identifying that pet will be easy and reliable.

Registration of your pet is FREE by going to FindingRover.com and:

• Uploading your pet’s photo
• Entering a few details about your pet
• Entering your name, email address, and zip code

“Dogs and cats are beloved family members, and if they go missing, it can be devastating to everyone involved,” said John Polimeno, CEO and Founder of Finding Rover. “We want to do everything we can to safeguard our pets from being lost forever. Registering on Finding Rover is another step all pet parents should take to further protect their furry family members.”

In addition to helping a lost pet find its home, Finding Rover also features dogs and cats that are available for adoption.