Ben Alert1.0 - App Store

Ben Alert can help with the search effort to find a lost pet. Ben Alert was created as a way to alert the public about lost pets in their area, much like an Amber Alert does for missing children.

* FEATURES *

Lost Pet Alerts

Whenever a pet is reported lost with Ben Alert, an alert is pushed to the device of anyone near the location of the lost pet. The Ben Alert user simply taps the notification to open the Ben Alert app directly to the information for the lost pet.

Lost Pet Info

Ben Alert displays a photo of the lost pet along with all the pertinent details people need to know when searching for your pet. This includes the pet's name, species, breed, coloring, etc.

Poster

You can download and/or email a custom "Lost Pet" poster with the photo and details of the lost pet. These are one page PDF's ideal for printing and posting around the area of the lost pet.

Follow a Lost Pet

With a Ben Alert account, you'll be able to "follow" a lost pet. You'll then receive push notifications directly on your device whenever someone reports a new sighting or posts a new message about the lost pet.

Messaging

You'll be able to send and receive messages about the lost pet. Whenever someone posts a new message about a lost pet you are following, you'll receive a notification on your device.

Sightings

All sightings reported for a lost pet can be viewed on a map. Each sighting will have a pin on the map, which, when tapped, will show the details of that sighting. A line will depict the path the lost pet has taken between sightings.

Search Parties

For any lost pet you are following, you can select to notify everyone of your current location. Your location will then appear on a map along with everyone else that is sharing their location. This is very useful when conducting an organized search so everyone knowns where everyone else is during the search.

* HOW TO *

List Your Pet

To list your pet in our database, you will need to first create an account. You can then go to the "My Pets" page and add information about all your pets, including their photo, species (dog, cat, rabbit, etc), breed, coloring, etc.

It is a good idea to add your pets before they are actually lost.

Create an Account

Creating an account is easy and free. We only require very limited information from you. Your address is used so we know if we should send alerts to your for other lost pets in your area. Your phone number is displayed to other users and printed on the "lost pet poster".

Specify Your Pet is Lost

If your pet not yet listed, you will first need to add the pet to our database. You can then go in to the "My Pets" page, select the pet that is lost and indicate that they are now lost and specify where they were lost at as well as any other pertinent data (reward, etc).

The Search

Once a pet has been lost, that is when Ben Alert really shines. You should have everyone that is helping search for your lost pet use Ben Alert.

With Ben Alert, you can easily send text messages to all the other people that are searching for the lost pet and they will receive push notifications on their device. It has proven much more effective than sending emails to everyone as some people won't see those emails until much later and perhaps too late to act on the information.

Any sightings of the lost pet can also be easily tracked on a map. Each sighting will be displayed on the map with a pin marker and an arrowed line will show the path the pet has taken between the sightings. This information can be used to try to determine patterns in the movements of the lost pet to better determine where they may be in the future.

Ben Alert also allows you to opt-in to sharing your current location with other Ben Alert users that are also searching for the same lost pet. Everyone searching for the pet can then see the location of the other searchers on a map. This is very useful when conducting search parties so everyone can see where everyone else is searching.

Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.