Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AirTag Helps Rescuers Find Dog Lost in California Flood

DFZD said:
Why do I never see an article anywhere in the world that says -

Non-Apple brand smartwatch saves life of an elderly man.. or a non-apple tracker lets man track his dog lost in a flood..

these headlines make it look like Apple invented these device categories..
Click to expand...

It's along the same line of why you also don't see articles that say:

"Non-Apple branded tracker used in stalking case, or non Apple branded tracker hidden in purse".

It's a mainstream product that (for better or worse) gets more mainstream coverage than Tile, Galaxy Tab, or any other tracker.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: noraa and compwiz1202
contraband said:
Apple has stated that AirTags are not supposed to be used on pets or animals.
Click to expand...
True, but that certainly hasn't stopped people from using them for those purposes. There are many third party companies that have collars & accessories designed to us AirTags for pets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: noraa
Coffee50 said:
It's along the same line of why you also don't see articles that say:

"Non-Apple branded tracker used in stalking case, or non Apple branded tracker hidden in purse".

It's a mainstream product that (for better or worse) gets more mainstream coverage than Tile, Galaxy Tab, or any other tracker.
Click to expand...
Yes it's all media smoke and mirrors. What then post or write can manipulate some into believing things happen less or more often. We learned in ninth grade that first person is the only perspective you can trust, and even then, you could be biased by things.
 
pdaholic said:
It will be interesting to hear Apple’s response here. They like to pat themselves on the back when their devices save lives, but they’ve been discouraging the use of Airtags for tracking pets. So happy the pup is with its owners!
Click to expand...
They discourage it because people assume they can track the pet in real time like watching their phone and seeing the tag move across a map. It doesnt work like that. The pet needs to be stationary and have apple devices tag it...If people are ok with those limitations go for it...if they think it's a way to real time track their pet...not a great solution. If they didnt state this, then imagine the lawsuits that would pile up because they couldn't real-time track the lost dog...everyone would be saying "Apple should have told us not to do that."
 
  • Like
Reactions: noraa, SFjohn and cjgrif
MacRumors said:
because they require a nearby iPhone to be located and do not have their own built-in GPS tracking functionality
Click to expand...
Wouldn't these limits apply to anything you might track? They don't specifically impact tracking living creatures... everything has the same problems with these limitations. And since these tags generally work quite well, then apparently these limits aren't a problem... and wouldn't be a problem for tracking dogs, either.

Which is to say... why not use them to track your pet? You use it to track equipment, why would a pet be any different? I'm sure Apple legal are the ones with this caveat, for some reason.
 
I'm really tempted to do this with mine, but don't want to risk one of them eating the airtag/battery if it comes off the collar while they're wrestling. Now if there's a 'dog stomach proof' holder for them....
 
dawhol9 said:
They discourage it because people assume they can track the pet in real time like watching their phone and seeing the tag move across a map. It doesnt work like that. The pet needs to be stationary and have apple devices tag it...If people are ok with those limitations go for it...if they think it's a way to real time track their pet...not a great solution. If they didnt state this, then imagine the lawsuits that would pile up because they couldn't real-time track the lost dog...everyone would be saying "Apple should have told us not to do that."
Click to expand...
Yep. I was just questioning if Apple would comment on the joyful outcome.
 
My extended family thinks I’m overly protective putting an air tag on the dog’s harness when we travel.
 
happy this happened. But also important to remember the device was used to locate his OWNER not the dog himself. I think they happened across the dog and the dog may not have had a regular collar medallion to identify him. They’re lucky someone knew how these things worked and used it accordingly.

I think it’s a neat idea but without an iPhone it’s useless.

Chipping the dog would have been the most responsible thing to do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: compwiz1202
Coffee50 said:
It's along the same line of why you also don't see articles that say:

"Non-Apple branded tracker used in stalking case, or non Apple branded tracker hidden in purse".

It's a mainstream product that (for better or worse) gets more mainstream coverage than Tile, Galaxy Tab, or any other tracker.
Click to expand...
My point was if Apple PR manages it somehow.. and I have never seen it for any other brand except Tesla.
 
Wildkraut said:
Or how many AirBags saves lifes, compared to AirTags.
Well, just adulations, it’s what the majority of people in here want to hear, so they write about it.
Click to expand...
I wasn’t talking about this site.. but digital media in general.. maybe Apple in headline gets them clicks..
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: imnotthewalrus, gusmula, Don1985 and 1 other person
Dog had a regular dog tag ID on its collar that anyone could read with their eyeballs. Likely someone would have seen the poor pup stuck in a drainage pipe- gone to rescue him, then saw his dog tag and contacted the owner.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: noraa and wilhoitm
now i see it said:
Dog had a regular dog tag ID on its collar that anyone could read with their eyeballs. Likely someone would have seen the poor pup stuck in a drainage pipe- gone to rescue him, then saw his dog tag and contacted the owner.
Click to expand...
Dog tags are not electronic! It's the year 2023! Embrace the technology! Do you ride a horse to work! lol
 
Wildkraut said:
Or how many AirBags saves lifes, compared to AirTags.
Well, just adulations, it’s what the majority of people in here want to hear, so they write about it.
Click to expand...
Well, this IS and apple centric site. Stands to reason that a story about a piece of apple tech saving a dog might show up here as opposed to a story about airbags saving lives. That’s not really the focus of the site.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: imnotthewalrus, gusmula, Seanm87 and 1 other person
atomic.flip said:
happy this happened. But also important to remember the device was used to locate his OWNER not the dog himself. I think they happened across the dog and the dog may not have had a regular collar medallion to identify him. They’re lucky someone knew how these things worked and used it accordingly.

I think it’s a neat idea but without an iPhone it’s useless.

Chipping the dog would have been the most responsible thing to do.
Click to expand...
Chipping doesn't track a pet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jumpthesnark
Not gonna lie: I have two young children and stuck AirTags on their shoes. Helps find their shoes, and God forbid someone snatches them, hopefully find them before they get that damn tracking alert. I disguised them to look like little charms on their shoes. Used the Belkin key ring case and put some stickers on them so they just look like a decorative trinket. I got freaked out when a large child sex trafficking ring was busted up less than a mile from my home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back