Alert method and apparatus for identifying pets available for adoption

Abstract

Information about pets presently in shelters or otherwise available for adoption is collected and stored in a centralized database that is accessible through, for example, a website. Each pet may be identified by type, a photograph, a locality where it is located, and other convenient information. Users who wish to locate a nearby pet register with a website and may set up an alert profile describing the type of pet they desire to look for or adopt, a geographic area within which they expect to find the pet, and the type of device on which they would like to receive an alert when a matching pet becomes available. Periodically, the alert profiles are processed and any matching pets within the geographic area defined by the user are identified and sent to each devices specified by the user.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.