
Ask HN: Is it possible to locate a dog through its microchip (RFID)? - simonebrunozzi
The beloved dog of a friend went missing hours ago, in San Francisco. Jackie, female boston terrier, 3 years old. We believe she was kidnapped, and it&#x27;s likely that she is still in the city.<p>Jackie has a microchip (a passive RFID) - it usually has a very short scan range, which means that RFID readers can read the dog ID only when at close proximity.<p>I am not a hardware guy, but I am trying to find out if there&#x27;s any way to &quot;extend&quot; the reading range of an RFID reader and possibly locate the dog by, well, driving around the city with the scanner in search of the right ID.<p>Any help is very much appreciated.
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pilingual
Indeed it seems designed specifically for short range, so it may not be
possible. [http://mwrf.com/systems/extend-active-rfid-zigbee-
network](http://mwrf.com/systems/extend-active-rfid-zigbee-network)

Do you have a photo? I have a Boston Terrier and so they are salient to me
(rarities in the Bay Area, everyone seems to have a doodle).

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simonebrunozzi
Thankfully the dog has just been found (10 hours after it went missing).

p.s. I see a lot of them in San Francisco. Where do you live?

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pilingual
Great news! (Wondering if it was Jackie.)

Peninsula, but moving to the city shortly. Nice to hear they are more common
up there. Always a delight to watch two Bostons play together.

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simonebrunozzi
Yes, it was Jackie! I guess you saw something on Nextdoor or Craiglist or
Facebook.

Sometimes in SF there are boston terrier meetup. They are great.

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simonebrunozzi
It seems that normal RFIDs used for pet identifications have an EXTREMELY
short scan range [0].

[0]: [http://www.datamars.com/products/companion-animal-
id/](http://www.datamars.com/products/companion-animal-id/)

