It might not have been by a bolt of lightning, but Jeff Moore was stopped in his tracks when he first saw Sir Charles on the new JaxPawFinder app. As part of the team that developed the pet adoption matchmaking app, he was checking it for glitches before the official public launch when a “goofy” photo of the sweet-faced Boston terrier mix instantly grabbed his heart, Moore said.
Sir Charles, or “Charlie,” may be the first Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) adoptable pet to find his forever home because of the ease and speed of this new app. Charlie confidently attended the JaxPawFinder public press conference and posed for photographs in Moore’s arms, serving as an irresistible, unofficial ambassador for JaxPawFinder.
“It’s a big win for me and the family,” Moore said. “I’m happy we could help get this app up and running for the city and the animals that need attention and loving homes. We have a little Maltese at home named Astrid, and she’s been lonely.”
Moore said he and his girlfriend had been wanting a smaller dog that matched Astrid’s size and energy level, and decided to go to ACPS for a meet-and-greet after spotting Charlie’s photo on the app.
“He had great energy and was very loving when we met him, and that was all
it took,” Moore recalled.
Moore serves as an assistant information technology officer for the City of Jacksonville and was part of the City’s Technology Solutions Group, which designed and built Jacksonville’s first AI-powered app entirely in-house. It originated as a collective idea between the City and ACPS.
The collaborative team met the shelter’s tremendous need for more adoptions by brainstorming ideas and reviewing successful programs in other cities. That exploratory process led to Jacksonville becoming the first city of its size to introduce JaxPawFinder, an AI-powered pet-owner matchmaking app.
Once downloaded, the app offers a straightforward way for people to use their phone to find the perfect new family member that suits their lifestyle. Scroll through the pet photos and biographies, or use the option to enter your preferred pet’s gender, size, age, energy level, and traits, and the app generates suitable matches for consideration.
“We’ve always said that the right match saves the lives of shelter pets,” said ACPS Chief Michael Bricker. “With JaxPawFinder, we’re using technology to make those matches smarter and faster, giving every animal a better shot at finding their perfect home.”
Bricker and the entire team involved in developing the app have been thrilled at the community response.
“The numbers jumped up immediately,” Bricker said, reporting that there have been more adoptions and significantly more potential adopters sending messages to staff or coming to the shelter to meet the pets since the app launched.
Once downloaded, the free app is simple to navigate. The first page displays an adoption information tab in the upper-right corner, containing all ACPS contact details. There are four selection options: “Matchmaker,” “Dogs,” “Cats,” and “Favorites.” Choose the “Matchmaker” option that opens a box to type a full description–it accepts an unusually large word count–of the ideal pet you want.
Or choose “Dogs” or “Cats” to see all available adoptable animals’ photos and genders. Select a specific pet’s photo by tapping “Learn more about me.” The next box shows the pet’s ID number in the upper right corner and its name, along with all known details. The shelter staff also provides specific observations on each pet’s temperament, personality and history.
Users can tap the heart in the upper right-hand corner to save a pet as a favorite; the app then copies it in with other saved “Favorites,” which also stores the preferred pets that potential adopters may wish to meet at the shelter.
To meet a pet at the shelter, check in at the lobby reception desk during the new expanded public hours–daily from noon to 7:00 p.m.–and ask to meet a selected pet by name and ID number. An adoption counselor will bring the pet into the lobby and accompany visitors to the visitation rooms, which have seating, large windows and doors. These meet-and-greet rooms provide privacy, making meetings with pets more relaxed and enjoyable for everyone.
At the press conference for the app launch on Oct. 8 at the ACPS shelter, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan joined City and ACPS officials, staff, volunteers and the app’s development team in welcoming community guests and media representatives.
“This is technology with a heart and now with JaxPawFinder, no dog or cat gets overlooked,” said Deegan. “Families can find their perfect companion, and our shelters can focus on what they do best: caring for animals and helping them to begin their next chapter. It’s about using innovation to make compassion even stronger by harnessing the power of AI to bring pets and people together faster than ever before.”
Bricker added that volunteers are urgently needed to write adoptable pet biographies with simple facts and descriptions of the animals, noting these biographies are critical. The success of the new app has made continuous updating of the online information about available and adopted pets critically important.
