Real Estate Blog - Excuse me, I have to take this call ... it's my dog!

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Excuse me, I have to take this call ... it's my dog!

copyrighted murphy with bluetooth cell phone For those Rainers who don't like posts that are animal-related... stop right here. But for those that want to read something funny on a Friday ... well, you might just get a kick out of this.

We have lots of posts that keep us up-to-date on the latest techie toys. I just read about a new techie tool that is projected to be introduced mid-2008.

It's a cell phone for DOGS!

The unit attaches to the dog's collar similar to the electronic fence transmitters. It will cost $400 plus a monthly service fee. It's waterproof and will have a GPS system, which could be a good thing to find a roaming pet.

It will have two buttons on it. One is "Call Owner" ... and I'm assuming that is to be used by a HUMAN who finds the wandering pet ... and not to be used by the pet.

The other is a "Call Center" button. Guess that can be used if the HUMAN doesn't answer their phone.

Now, here's where it gets a little humorous if you let your mind wander with the possibilities.

The phone can be programed to call the HUMAN if the dog strays a certain distance from the home. Imagine sitting in a closing and having to say, "excuse me, I have to take this call ... it's my dog".

The owner can call the dog's number to talk to the dog. In the case mentioned above, I guess the HUMAN could say, "GET BACK IN YOUR OWN YARD!" Or we can tell them to GET OFF THE SOFA because we KNOW that's where they are. Or we can whisper sweet nothings to them to assure them we'll be home soon.

The phone can also be programmed to only accept the HUMAN's calls. This would prevent the dog from receiving 'wrong number' calls or calls from telemarketers. I must admit I find the "heavy breathing" aspect of responding to a telemarketer's calls to be intriguing.

Wouldn't you like to be a "fly on the wall" when the dog gets his first call to watch his head spin around as he tries to see where "the voice" is coming from. You could really have fun messing with their little minds. Think of the exercise they could get by running throughout the house trying to find their HUMAN.

Of course, eventually they may just tire of the new toy, and when they see it's just their HUMAN's number, they could ignore the call. I suppose they'll eventually ask for a vibrate button so they can easily go back to sleep on the sofa.

Wonder how many minutes The Murph would use ... and will those minutes include a ROLLOVER plan?

Posted by Elaine Reese, REALTOR® in central Ohio on 10/12/2007 02:33 PM

Comments (39)

murphy, technology

39 Comments on Excuse me, I have to take this call ... it's my dog!

OCT

2007

Elaine, are you doing this ? Let us know how it goes, since I love dogs and have four of them it would be very costly and they would use up the minutes talking to each other.

I emailed this to my sister. She has two mini pins and a miniature Australian shepherd and this looks like it would be right up her alley.

Would Duncan put me on hold, is there call waiting? I don't know, with two kids and their cell phone bills, not sure about the DOG having his own! The girls already call just to TALK to the dog.....LOL!

What will they think of next? I'm sure there are plenty of pet-obsessed people out there who will love this.

Missy, I'm absolutely NOT doing it! Per the article I read on the phone, it's not to be available until mid-2008.

Fran: so your sister can put all 3 on a "Family Plan". ;-)

Debbie: Call waiting is funny. Do you suppose they offer voice mail ... or "bark mail"?

Lisa: I've been trying to think about who might find this beneficial. I could see hunter's using it to give commands or to locate the dog. The shepherds who give those whistle commands to the border collies might find it beneficial as well.

My doggie wouldn't listen anyway. I've tried to teach her to come for 2.5 years. Stubborn. She would sit though. If I could tell her to sit then does it have a tracking system to find her sitting somewhere? Maybe better I just get a tracking thing like they have for kids now.

Sally: I've never been able to get ANY of my dogs to come on command ... unless they actually wanted to. My Dobies would 'sit'. Haven't bothered to teach that to Murph since it's hard to tell when he's sitting or standing ... not much difference between the two. ;-)

Haven't heard about a tracking system for kids. Is it something that attaches to their backpacks or clothes?

I think Monday is the anniversary of MF's blog about people are watching us and they don't all like what they are seeing...or readiing ...or something like that... dog blogging.

Buddy gets nervous when my cell phone talks or vibrates. It never rings. He is getting weirder as he gets older. He hates the computer printer. Would their collar ring? Probably not, just the humans voice but he never wants to listen on the phone either so I think I will pass on getting him a cell phone.

Maureen: I would expect the phone to just click like an ear piece does. Sounds like you've tried to talk to Buddy ... does Mark hold the phone for him?

Turning on the speaker phone distresses Buddy. I've tried to get him to listen to Mark on the phone... Buddy does not like it and Mark thinks it's silly too...

Something in the cell phone I think. How come they don't come? I could never figure it out...

Maureen, the speaker phone distresses me as well. ;-)

Sally: Regarding how come they don't come, it may be that we unknowingly give negative reinforcement. "Coming" means they have to go into the house so we humans can then leave them. I know the reaction is totally different for "let's go!" because THAT means "road trip". YEAH!!!

OCT

2007

Lol Elaine, Bella would not be paying any attention to the call unless It said CHICKEN? BONIE??? COOKIE??

Ginger

Ginger, isn't it amazing how quickly dogs learn the word "cookie"!! They're deaf when it comes to sit and stay, but not "cookie" or "go for a ride" or opening the package of cheese.

Oh Elaine, what a riot. I have three doggies - do I get a doggie discount?

Elaine, that priceless. This is for the dog that has everything. But, at the same time I can see it when a pet is having a hard time being alone and just hearing their master's voice would be reassuring, I would think. But, it is funny and just a tad bit out there.

Karen, you get the Family Plan with Rollover Minutes and automated BarkMail!

BTW, got an email from Kathy and mentioned to her that I "knew" you. My buyers had visited her Open House and she emailed me to let me know.

Gena, yes, I can see certain situations where it could be beneficial (like hunters), but it IS fun to take it "out there".

I've heard of people calling their home phone and reassuring the dog via the answering machine. When I used to travel a lot in my other job and would call home, my daughter would occasionally hold the phone so my Dobie could hear my voice.

Elaine, You are sooo right!! Cookie, that's the magic word! Stay....falls on deaf ears!

Ginger

Ginger, the other word that Murph pays absolutely no attention to is "QUIET"!!!! Doxies are such loud and incessant barkers - it's because they think they're so tough. Little-Man-Syndrome, you know. ;-)

This afternoon I was getting gas and in the bay next to us was a short-hair doxie. Between the two of them barking at each other the whole time, I'm sure all the other patrons ears were ringing.

OCT

2007

Elaine,

That is just too funny. I'm sorry but this sort of blog is just totally what we need sometimes! How funny altough I know of a dog that is lost right now near my home and the owners have to head back home to Maine. If they had this GPS they could find the pup. Wow who would have thought?

Karen, yes, isn't it good to just laugh sometimes - especially in today's market.

Actually the photo of the "phone" looks similar to the little gizmos that are bark-control devices. Having the GPS would be better than the implanted micro-chips because it would allow the owner to find the dog rather than relying on someone else to take the dog to a vet to have the micro-chip checked.

When I moved to Tucson back in the 90's, I drove there rather than putting my 2 Dobies on a plane. I bought the little pouches that joggers can put on their shoes to hold a house key. Inside, the pouch I put a note giving info on who I was, what their name was, what we were doing, and what my new address was. That way, if I happened to have a car accident and they ran away in unfamiliar land, someone could check the little pouch on their collars. I would see this phone serving the same function.

Elaine, glad you connected with Kathy, my daughter-in-law. Small world, isn't it.

Karen S: I was impressed with Kathy contacting me. I try to do that same thing if open house guests seem interested. She said her sellers were motivated ... aren't they all!

OCT

2007

Elaine, That is funny! My dog would probably figure out how to use the call button and call me because she is lonely and wants me to come home and play!

Roberta, I wondered about that call button as well ... as to how easily it would be to trigger. If it could be accidently triggered a couple times, you just know that there would be some dogs that would figure it out. ;-)

OCT

2007

We just finally after 2 days got a dog back to his owners. He went through his radio fence - too bad he didn't have a phone on him or his owners phone number!!!!

Kathleen, as funny as the first thought of a dog having a phone is, after a while we can begin to think of how practical it might be. Your experience is a good example. The "escape artists" would be good candidates for the GPS system.

OCT

2007

Hi Elaine: A cell phone for dogs. Nah... I think yer barkin' up the wrong tree with that one. Now, a cell phone for cats ? Now there's an idea whose time has come. <grin>

Karen ... say what you will about dogs with phones but OUR dogs LOVE to hear our voices. YOUR cat will smuggly just put YOU on HOLD then go back to sleep ... that's if they decided to take your call in the first place! <wide, wide grin>

Elaine: Actually, if my cat had a phone, she would just switch it to "vibrate" and then lay down on top of it and take a nap... hoping someone would call and start the phone vibrating.

Actually Elaine: I have a story to tell you. I just clicked on your name, and found you were in suburban Columbus. Tens of years ago, perhaps in the mid-70's... I had come down to Columbus to visit. We were standing in line to get into some popular restaurant in I think it was called "German Village." Being the trouble-maker I am... I said... "Oh, we have these in Cleveland, too. We call them "abandoned warehouses !" You should have seen the looks I got... LOL.

Karen: Yes, a cat would probably like vibrate better ... then they wouldn't have to expend their energy to purr. ;-)

Regarding Columbus, Maureen McCabe and I are office mates and both work the Columbus metro area. Funny comment on the GV warehouses. In the past few years, there has been a drive to "revitalize" the downtown area (GV is nearby) and many of those abandoned downtown & GV warehouses have been turned into trendy lofts. And GV is an upscale, trendy neighborhood now and is very restrictive on what can be done to the old brick German-style homes. One section of those old GV warehouses is now called the Brewery District. (Eons ago, there were beer makers (German) and they located south of the city so their waste water wouldn't contaminate the Scioto River water supply.)