Students of the University of Computer Science of the Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP) developed VETech, an application that they hope will help control the dog population.
In an interview, developers Luis Manuel Polanco Balcázar and Luis Conde Rodriguez stressed that there are 400,000 dogs in the streets of Puebla, most thrown out by their owners because of a lack of information about adoption centers and / or sterilization.
Rodriquez said that a lack of culture to protect animals and the importance of sterilization has created the problem of homeless and street dogs, dogs with a home but left outside to roam the streets, throughout Mexico.
Currently the app is designed for the Puebla area but could spread nationwide. The app focuses on registering dogs and their history of healthcare, ownership, and veterinarians. Collars worn by the dogs would contain NFC chips holding vital information about the dogs on the street that can be accessed by any phone that has installed the app.
‘If a dog gets lost, anyone can scan the collar with their smartphone to receive vital information about the dog,’ Rodriquez said.
The concept is similar to microchips that are inserted into a dog’s skin. The difference in this development is that anyone can access the data in the collar and it would be more accessible in smaller rural areas. Currently microchips can only be accessed by veterinarians with the proper equipment, and finding those outside of metropolitan areas of Mexico can be difficult.
The application will also focus on pet adoptions, allowing access to pets in the area currently available for adoption. The system has three primary options; My Dog, Pet Adoptions, Stray Dogs.
The app will also allow users to locate the nearest veterinarians in cases of emergencies, and view any pet promotions in the area.
Source: NTX / VDR / MCC
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