Millions of dogs go missing in the US every year, turning a routine walk or an open gate into a stressful search for owners. Ring wants to make those searches faster and more community-driven.
The company is now opening up its Search Party for Dogs feature so that anyone with a lost pet can ask for help through the Neighbors app, even if they do not own a Ring camera themselves.
For the uninitiated, Search Party for Dogs is an AI-powered feature that was launched a few months ago. It allowed Ring camera owners to work together in report and spot missing dogs in their neighborhoods.
Now, Ring is expanding that reach, letting all pet owners tap into the same network of neighbors and outdoor cameras when a dog goes missing.
How Search Party for Dogs works in the Neighbors app
Pet owners can report a lost dog in the Neighbors app by adding photos and details about their dog. That information is then shared with nearby Ring users, whose outdoor cameras can help look for potential matches.
The system relies on AI to compare a reported missing dog with animals spotted on Ring’s outdoor cameras. Indoor Ring cameras are not used for this feature. If a Ring camera detects a dog that could be a match, the camera owner receives an alert showing an image of the dog along with relevant video clips.
From there, the camera owner can decide what to do next. They can choose to share the footage with the pet’s owner, reach out directly, or even ignore Search Party and Community Requests alerts entirely.
Ring says the idea is to make finding a lost dog a shared effort, rather than something owners have to handle alone. By opening Search Party for Dogs to everyone through the Neighbors app, Ring is betting that community eyes, AI, and a little goodwill can help reunite more dogs with their families faster.
In other Ring-related news, the company has also added a security seal that helps prevent camera footage from being tampered with, reinforcing its focus on trust and transparency.