Move Over, Puppy Bowl: Ring's Dog-Rescuing Big Game Ad Brings Tears and Tech

It's only been a couple of months since security brand Ring rolled out its Search Party function to locate lost dogs. The company says it's already helped pet owners find more than one lost dog per day. 

Now, Ring is going much bigger with the project, showing up in a cute Super Bowl ad and enabling anyone to benefit from Search Party, even if they don't own a Ring security cam.

Search Party is a particularly innovative use of advanced home AI, which Ring adopted last year to help identify objects, summarize caught video and save time. Amazon-owned Ring then developed a pet-friendly use in Search Party, unlike anything I've seen before, allowing Ring subscribers to post pictures of lost pets on the Ring Neighbors platform. 

If you opt in, captured outdoor video is sent to Ring for analysis. If the cameras detect a pet that the AI interprets as resembling a lost dog reported on the platform, you'd get a notification, with the ability to share the info and location with the worried pet owner.

The AI gambit proved successful -- so successful that Ring is ramping up Search Party in a major way, just in time for the Big Game. Now, Search Party is available to anyone who signs up for the Ring Neighborhood app, but you no longer need a Ring Cam or a video doorbell. The only limitation is that the detection service is currently available only to those living in the US.

Ring also announced a $1 million project to provide animal shelters across the country with Ring cameras, which would presumably make Search Party even more effective if a four-legged friend was already brought into a shelter.  

If the Big Game ad isn't enough to tug your heartstrings, Ring's announcement also includes several stories from pet owners who have used Search Party to locate their furry family, including a very cute doggo who was found in just 15 minutes.

On a final note, there's been a lot of talk and conflicting information around Ring cameras and Flock surveillance. Flock has been known to share license plate and drone footage with local police departments and other law enforcement, which has made people cautious about letting the company near their home security cameras. 

However, while Ring has an upcoming partnership with Flock, the collaboration hasn't started yet. When it does, you'll have to manually give consent to share videos for every new event.

If you're interested in cameras that could spot lost local pets or help protect your packages, check out my guides to the best cheap video doorbells and the best cheap security cameras to see what's available on a budget.