After placing a lost cat report on PetLynx, one confused cat owner emailed to ask why she was getting potential 'matches' for cats that were tabby or black and white... when the photo of her cat clearly showed it was a Siamese.
Here is why:
Potential matches that may appear to be 'mistakes' are provided because the PetLynx AutoMatch™ system takes into account the fact that not all members of the public describe a lost/found animal the same way.
We don't want to miss a chance at getting a lost pet HomeSafe™ simply because the 'finder' can't tell a tabby from a Siamese! So, all potential matches are provided, taking into account a variety of factors, such as sex, coat length, etc.
AutoMatch™ is a service exclusive to the PetLynx system that can search for matches for a pet using either an identifier such as a tattoo, microchip or PetLynx visual tag, and/or based on only a physical description of the animal using a PetLynx technology called DataSketch™. The AutoMatch™ system then serves up all potential matches and notifies both parties involved. The parties can then retrieve the matches and physically follow up to see if it is the correct pet.
AutoMatch™ is unique because:
1. The system makes matches based on identifiers such as microchip and tattoos. Our system is not proprietary to any microchip manufacturer, so all microchip types are accepted.
2. AutoMatch can also make matches on a pet based on only a physical description, using our unique DataSketch™ technology.
3. Unlike other systems, AutoMatch™ is an automatic system so there is no need to manually search through reports.
4. AutoMatch™ sends out possible matches to other animals that are similar to your description -- no other pet lost and found search engine does this!
The pet family is ultimately responsible for managing their information, however, the system allows for the finder to engage themselves as well if they choose to.
