The sat-nav collar

This is not OT. Back in December, there was a thread here where
something like this was suggested for bikes and the pronouncement was
"nice idea, but it would never happen."

I disagreed with that, but said nothing. I disagreed because I just read
an article about how a GPS device had been planted inside a baby Jesus
in a nativity scene and was used to catch the kid thieves. But I had no
other details, which I was sure that folks would point out.

Now we have this new device. Not cheap at $400, but some people spend
thousands on their bikes, like they spend thousands on their dogs.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/l...cle3501141.ece

Dog owners will soon be able to deploy sat-nav technology to track down
a missing pet. A high-tech dog collar was previewed yesterday on the
first day of the Crufts Show.

The lockable collar, on sale from July, is made of anticut material to
deter thieves and sends texts to the owner’s mobile telephone if the dog
crosses a preset boundary. The owner can log on to a website where,
using the sat-nav technology of the collar, they can pinpoint the pet’s
location.

The collar is not cheap at £200, but its makers, Retrieva, insist that
it is worth it. Andrew Stuart, the company’s director, said: “Dog theft
is out there but it’s not high on the list of police priorities, for
obvious reasons. But for owners or families, if a dog gets lost it is a
traumatic experience.”

About 23,000 pedigree dogs, including more than 1,160 from abroad, are
expected to take part in the annual show, at the National Exhibition
Centre in Birmingham. The event is recognised by Guinness World Records
as the world’s largest dog show.

Organisers say that this year will be the second-largest show in
Crufts’s 117 years, with only 27 fewer registered dogs than the largest
show in 1991.

Over the next three days dogs will compete in more than 2,000 classes
and ultimately for the title of Best in Show, which will be awarded on
Sunday.

William Hill has closed betting on which breed would win amid talk of a
mystery “superdog”. In only a few hours the odds on the winner coming
from the “utility dog” category, which includes bulldogs, miniature
poodles and Dalmatians, rather than the more traditionally favoured
terrier, hound and working dog classes, were shortened from 13-2 to 1-2
after a flurry of large bets.

Rupert Adams, spokesman for William Hill, said: “There must be an
exceptional dog out there that we have not heard about.”

Owners can put their dogs forward for additional competitions, such as
the international obedience, agility and heelwork to music competition.
Dog dance teams performed yesterday to the strains of theFlashdancetheme.

Some dogs are just there to show off. Scooby the dog posed at the PDSA
Pet Fit Club stand yesterday to share her weight loss secrets. She had
lost 5.5lb (2.5kg) after the fish and chips, curry, pizzas and ice-cream
that her owner used to feed her were cut from her diet.

A PDSA spokeswoman said: “Now she enjoys a balanced diet and a healthy
lifestyle, which has much improved her quality of life and will no doubt
mean she’ll live a lot longer than she would have done if she had
remained dangerously overweight.”

About 153,000 visitors are expected to attend Crufts this year. The
whole event occupies almost 20 acres, including five halls, two
pavilions and the main arena.