When I thought I was going to lose my heart dog, Noelle, from acute renal failure back in May, the first thing I did (after nearly completely losing it), was to have a custom, sterling silver charm made of her nose. The mold captured every little bump and groove of her adorable little nose.
I call it my boop charm. And I treasure it.
Thankfully, my little Noelle defied all odds and made what we hope is a complete recovery. (We will know for sure in November. Keep her in your thoughts.)
Now we have another ailing pup in our pack, Carmen, who is dealing with some heart issues. What do we do? Immediately get that boop made!
Note: if you’d like a boop charm made of your pup, click on the buttom below.
ARE DOG BOOPS REALLY THAT UNIQUE?
Obviously, I think so but that’s just my opinion – or so I thought.
Turns out that from 1938 to 1992, the Canadian Kennel Club accepted nose prints as a form of identification for purebred dog registrations. In 1992, that was phased out and tattoos and microchips became the only accepted means of identification.
Nose prints weren’t phased out because they weren’t accurate; apparently, it was because of a couple things but readability was one and the other was that lost-dog recovery efforts understandably were difficult with a physical print of a dog nose stored in a central location.
More recently, a 2021 published study from researchers in South Korea, Study on the Viability of Canine Nose Pattern as a Unique biometric Marker, concluded that the canine nose pattern is unique to each individual dog and that a dog’s unique nose patterns are set by the age of 6 months and do not change as the dog matures and ages.
According to the study, the parts that make the dog’s nose unique are the shape of the nostrils, the length and position of the philtrum (that line that runs vertically at the bottom of your dog’s nose), and the grooves and beads between the dog’s nostrils.
So, that’s all pretty cool stuff, but how can it help us with dog identification for registering dogs, and most importantly finding lost dogs?
As a less invasive procedure, lower cost means of identification, nose scan identification could foreseeably replace the need for microchipping. And, if the technology could be accessible to the general public with a central database, this nose scan thing could really work.
THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT!
Anipuppy, NoseID, and SmartSnout are three beta apps currently being tested on the market. Anipuppy is in South Korea; NoseID is in Japan, and Smart Snout is in the UK.
The apps all work by taking a photo or scan of your dog’s nose and once a good image is taken (the apps let you know if you need to retake it), the information can be registered, along with vaccination and health records, additional images of your dog, and location.
In South Korea, the biometrics company, iSciLab says its product, Anipuppy, is 99.9 per cent accurate and will allow people who find lost dogs to “quickly and directly communicate with [the dogs’] owners.” The company hopes the app, currently in beta, will resolve a longstanding issue in the country with pet owners not registering their dogs with microchips. A 2014 animal protection law in South Korea requires pet owners to register companion dogs with microchips; however, according to a 2020 report by the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, only 38 per cent of the nation’s 6 million pet dogs were registered.
In Fukuoka City, Japan, the NoseID app is being used to scan and register all lost dogs at the pet welfare center. The goal in Fukuoka City is to build a real data platform for pets where all pets are registered, says NoseID.
Smart Snout is launching a 2.0 version this year in the UK. Smart Snout also reports a 99 per cent accuracy level detection and will be available on the App Store and Google Play.
Smart Snout Version 2.0
How this dog nose scanner technology works.
COULD IT WORK IN THE UNITED STATES?
With the widespread use of phones and cameras and our general love of apps and technology, this thing could work. It would appeal to those who have concerns about implanting microchips whether for health, migration of the chip, and/or cost. It would be a quick way for anyone to check a lost dog for registration, as most people have cell phones but not as many have chip readers at the ready.
What are your thoughts?
0 Comments