It will soon become much easier for Phoenix-area residents to reunite with their lost pets. Maricopa County Animal Care and Control recently announced that they will be partnering with Finding Rover, a free pet facial recognition service that provides a new tool for locating lost dogs and cats.

Jose Santiago, a spokesman with the agency said,  “Basically, it’s just one more option for folks out there who have lost their animals to be potentially reunited with them. When you lose a pet it’s a stressful situation for everybody involved, and you should be willing to do anything and everything to go ahead and try to find that pet.”

Pet owners can visit Finding Rover and register their pets for free by uploading a photo and filling out information about their pets and themselves. “What it will do is it will upload your pet’s picture, use its facial distinctions, if you will, to try and see if there are any animals within the shelter system that match your pet’s description,” Santiago said. The website also provides information regarding pet adoption.

Santiago added, “They reached out to us because we’re the government agency that goes out and picks up lost and stray animals. So, it made sense to go ahead and partner with us.”

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control facilities have been overcrowded since the Fourth of July holiday from many pets running away from their respective homes due to fireworks. Most animal shelters are required to hold pets for 72 hours before they are placed up for adoption, but they are optimistic that services like Finding Rover will increase the odds of reuniting a majority of lost pets with their owners.