Smile, You're On Canine Camera

Ever wonder what Fido does when you're not around? Suspect he's throwing wild parties? Terrorizing the neighbors? Now you'll know. Panasonic's PetCam and new web site, SeeMyPetCam.com answers your questions and creates a social network for pet lovers everywhere.

Beneath the canine packaging, this new webcam from Panasonic is really just your garden variety IP camera, but that's not a bad thing. Because the camera connects right to the Internet, you don't need to attach it to a computer; all of the other software you need is built into the camera. You connect the camera directly to your router (or, if you want, to your PC) and the rest happens automatically.

The webcam points you to a free permanent web address that allows you to watch your pet in action. You can also store the videos on the SeeMyPetCam.com site and join a lively community of pet lovers. And you can control (tilt and pan) the camera remotely from any web connection, including your web enabled cell phone. It does still shots, too.

Panasonic is offering a few variations of the PetCam with catchy names like the BL-C1, BL-C20, BL-C111, and BLC131. Some of the cameras have a more robust feature set than others. The ones with thermal sensors can be triggered when your dog steps into the area. Others feature a 10X digital zoom (remember that digital zooms can cause very pixilated images). One of the models even has two-way sound (so you can really confuse Fido with your voice of God imitation.)

Of course you could just as easily use this camera to guard your home or check up on the babysitter. But we all know that pooches, like babies, sell cameras. The Panasonic network cameras are currently available at www.Panasonic.com and www.Amazon.com. They start at $99 and go up to $299.

Not a dog lover? A variation on the theme is this inventor's cat cam. He gets a tabby-eye view of the world because his cat wears the camera, which takes one photo a minute (for 48 hours). 

Do you know what your pet is doing?