Life360 Pet GPS - Keeping Track of Four-Legged Family Members

I am a very lucky dog owner.

My little guy doesn't really dig and he's never really shown any inclination to try and escape our property.

Conversely, we have a friend whose cavoodle has made it her life's mission to break out and head for the hills... or the park... or the supermarket... or just anywhere, really.

So I've become pretty complacent, confident that 5 year-old Jerry will be waiting at the top of the stairs for me every day when I get home from work, manically hopping from foot to foot, desperate for his ritual behind-the-ear scritches and belly rubs.

But what if one day Jerry wasn't there? What if he'd been led astray by that bad influence cavoodle, decided the grass really did look greener on the other side of the fence and took off check it out first hand?

Nightmare.

Luckily, there's now literally nowhere in the world he can go where I can't find him.

It's thanks to the Life360 Pet GPS - a compact tracker that fits securely onto any furry friend's collar.

I'm pretty late onto the Life360 bandwagon, although I know people who rely on it religiously, to keep tabs on other family members - kids, partners, parents - so they always have peace of mind, secure in the knowledge their loved ones are where they're supposed to be - or at least on their way to where they're supposed to be.

What I'd missed completely though, was Life360's 2021 acquisition of Tile, one of the world's most trusted names in bluetooth tracking devices.

Now the Tile range includes not only car key fobs and stick-on trackers, but also super-slim credit-card-shaped trackers for your wallet too.

All these items can easily be added to the Life360 app on your phone, and although the trackers are not GPS capable themselves, by connecting to nearby phones via bluetooth, the location is established using those phones' GPS capabilities instead.

Some Tile trackers have built-in, non-replaceable batteries that last for a very long time - up to three years, in fact. Others have batteries that CAN be swapped out, although this results in a slightly larger form-factor - it's one of the reasons the Tile Pro is a lot longer than the basic Tile for example.

The Pet GPS is a different beast. So to speak.

As the name indicates, this tracker has its own GPS chip, so it's able to provide real time location information in even the most remote areas - regardless of any other phones being nearby. And unlike Life360's other Tile trackers, the Pet GPS is rechargeable. This is essential, because providing real-time location information via satellite takes a lot more power than a low-energy bluetooth connection - although the Pet GPS has that too, which means even once the rechargeable cell goes flat (you'll get around 14 days on a full charge) the device itself can still be located via the Tile network for another 6 months, thanks to Reserve Mode.

To get full functionality from your Pet GPS, you will need a Silver Life360 membership plan. The good news is, a year's worth of Silver Life360 is included with your purchase. Now that's what I call a trial period.

I'm not usually a fan of compulsory subscriptions to make a device work, but a 12-month Silver sub is quite generous and at least you'll know for sure if it's worth another $89.99 for the following year.

There are Gold and Platinum subscriptions too and I was blown away to discover the extra features you're entitled to at those higher levels. For example, a Gold subscription means you can use a Pet GPS tracker on up to five different animals and you even get ID Theft Protection on the email account associated with your membership.

At both Gold and Platinum levels, you're entitled to roadside assistance - including towing - and even hundreds of dollars towards a new phone if yours is stolen.

And if you go Platinum, you can call for medical advice over the phone and even travel assistance when things go wrong on holiday!

There's certainly a lot more to Life360 than just a tracker on your dog's collar.

Which brings us back to the device we're actually reviewing here. The Pet GPS comes in Black, Navy Blaze (blue and orange) or Pink Punch. There's a charging cable, collar mount and an Adventure Sleeve included in the box.

The design is simple, yet robust. The mount has a rubbery loop that hooks over your pet's collar to keep it firmly in place. The Pet GPS itself charges via a USB-C port on the back, then simply clips onto the collar mount or unclips just by squeezing both sides of the device.

The tracker seems pretty tough and it's water resistant, with an IP68 rating. The Adventure Sleeve provides even more protection, sliding over both the core unit and the mount - but I think only the most manic diggers, rollers and zoomers would require this extra level of protection.

Speaking of zooming, nothing is likely to crack a dog owner up more than watching that faithful best friend hit turbo and start running and jumping around like crazy for no apparent reason. That's why you can actually set the Life360 app to give you a "Zoomies Alert" - so you won't miss out, even if you're not around.

Obviously, that's not the only alert you can activate. You can be notified the moment your pet leaves your property - or arrives back. And because it's a live GPS signal, you can literally track your pet's movements on a map, and retrace them - even days later.

There's also a bright light on the front of the Pet GPS. For a safer night walk, you can turn this on with a single push of the pairing button at the top of the device. Or, if you've lost sight of your pet somewhere dark, you can trigger the light from the app to help retrieve them from under the deck or out of the middle of that woodpile.

Should the worst happen and your escape artist answers the call of the wild without you knowing, you can immediately send out an alert to the world's largest pet finder network and all the other Life360 users in your area will be notified your precious is on the lam and they'll see a picture so they'll know who to look out for.

And that doesn't just mean pets wearing the Pet GPS either. No sooner had I signed up for my Life360 subscription and filled out my profile than I received an urgent notification about a neighbour's missing budgie. I don't know if they found it but I know I certainly had my eyes peeled for the next few days.

It's this kind of community-powered, technology-assisted network that is now at my disposal, all through my dog's new Pet GPS and the Life360 app. I had no idea of the extent of what Life360 had to offer, nor the peace of mind I now have, knowing where Jerry is, every second of the day. You just can't buy that.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Life360 Pet GPS.