Front Page Michelle Nolan, For the Bellingham Herald Lamp posts and telephone poles aren't enough. Two Whatcom Community College students with a passion for locating lost pets have developed a high-tech tool to improve the odds. Bellingham residents Gabe Hoggarth and Adam Christian recently created a free Web site -- LostPetNet.com -- that makes heart-rending notes tacked onto posts and poles seem so 20th century. "We really feel for people with lost pets and we wanted to offer a better way to find them by developing a community database," said Hoggarth, 18, who attends WCC in the Running Start program along with longtime buddy Christian, 17. Hoggarth recalls how empty he felt when the family's 3-year-old Labrador, Spook, was missing for a few days, and the joy of seeing him return on his own. Christian, who also has a dog, can't forget his feelings of loss when a favorite parakeet was eaten by a cat. LostPetNet.com is another in a long series of Internet projects since middle-school days for the inseparable friends, yet they are anything but computer nerds. Both are soccer standouts, enjoy snow sports and hold down jobs. They will graduate from high school this spring with extensive college credits, thanks to Running Start. In fact, the only time they'll put their friendship on hold will be as spring soccer opponents when Hoggarth plays for Squalicum High and Christian competes for Bellingham High. They were teammates and varsity regulars as juniors at Bellingham High last season, but Hoggarth transferred to Squalicum for his senior year. Christian gives Hoggarth credit for thinking up LostPetNet.com -- "about midnight one recent night when we were just sitting around eating Doritos and pizza." "Gabe really had the idea near the end of last summer, after he saw a Bellingham Herald story about the number of lost pets and local humane societies," Christian said. "It just seemed like there were such limited resources. We felt there ought to be a better way through computers." Their high-tech talents meshed perfectly on the project. Hoggarth did the layout, design and graphics; Christian worked on the coding and data presentation. "It seems like we're always coming up with crazy computer ideas," said Hoggarth, who also serves as his own publicity man. "But we think this one really works." Anyone who has lost a pet is invited to fill out a form on LostPetNet.com, with the option of including as much information as desired. The "pet bio" remains in the database until the pet is found, and can be updated at any time. People who find animals they suspect may be lost pets are invited to visit the "found pet" portion of the Web site. They can research the database and write a description of a found animal. "Good for them. I think it's wonderful," said Laura Clark, community outreach director at Whatcom Humane Society. "The public should use it as one of several resources. "People should come to the shelters or call us, of course," Clark said. "But this will be another good way to search for lost pets." Reach Dean Kahn, editor, at dkahn@bellingh.gannett.com or 715-2264 |
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