
Dozens of dogs are lost every day in Buenos Aires. On one side of it there’s the owner who has lost their cherished companion, and on the other, the pet, confused and waiting for their human to come pick them up. If they’re lucky, someone will find them and keep them safe for a while.
So, how do you find a lost dog?
We used to put signs up on trees but now we have social networks in our digital age. As well as Facebook or Twitter, there’s Back2gether, a free app that can connect someone who has lost their pooch to someone who has found it.
Its interactive map allows you to specify the exact spot where the animal was last seen and leave a description. You can access, see and navigate the app without registering; you just have to log in through Facebook, says Argentine daily Clarin.
Losing a pet can be "overwhelming, not just for the owners but for the pet itself, who ends up wandering aimlessly," says Alfonso Cornejo Lavin, head creative at Wunderman, the agency that designed the app. It is intended to complement traditional means of looking for your dog.
Another of the agency's directors, José Azanza Arias, said the collaborators who conceived the app all "adored their pets."
The app was downloaded 3,000 times in its first week. "People use it and there are users constantly coming back," Azanza said.
Photo: Back2gether via Facebook