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App helps bring lost dogs home by scanning their one-of-a-kind noses

A dog's nose is as unique as a human's fingerprint. IAMS is using that knowledge to reunite missing dogs with their owners. On Monday, the pet food brand announced it was rolling out a beta version of its new app NOSEiD.

How it works? Owners enter some basic contact information and scan their dog's nose to capture its noseprint. That biometric record is then stored in NOSEiD's database. Anyone who finds a lost dog can use the app to scan its snoot and hopefully find a match.

Innovation of the day

NOSEiD was developed by the MARS-owned brand with creative agency adam&eveDDB and is available for both Apple and Android devices. The app is currently only available for use in the Nashville area, where IAMS is promoting the service through shelters, groomers, dog walkers and other local businesses to encourage dog owners (and potential finders) to sign up.

IAMS shares that nearly 10 million US pets are lost every year, and only about 1 in 3 find their way home. While microchipping is a solid option for identification, only a small fraction of dogs is chipped. Since almost every person has a smartphone and every dog a highly unique sniffer, the free app provides an elegant and frictionless alternative that could spare both pets and their owners the anguish of being separated, and avoid dogs being stuck in shelters. And consumers will no doubt deem IAMS a very good boy for being so supportive.

(P.S. If you've been considering entering the pet market, now's the time — it's booming. As Morgan Stanley reported earlier this month, in the US the industry is poised to jump from USD 100 billion to USD 275 billion by 2030, thanks in part to the pandemic-driven surge in new owners.)