I’m a geek. I’m a geek who has pets. So, whenever a new tablet, phone, or really anything shiny crosses before my eyes, my geeky senses tingle, and my brain starts offering me reasons as to why I should have it. This reaction is compounded when it is, a. something my husband would love, b. something my daughter would love, or c. something I could pretend my pets would love.

In this week’s PetsGeekly column, the first in a new pet tech column that will appear on PetsWeekly twice a month, I’m going to talk about two pet gadgets that are extremely cool and useful. As a bonus, I’ll show you another product that isn’t so much practical, but about saving cherished memories in a creative way. We geeks have feelings too!

We’ve talked a lot about the Tagg GPS Pet Tracker on the site, and in every show PetsWeekly has been to this year, people flocked to check out this piece of techery. Unfortunately, the $200 price tag tended to cool their jets, and I wish I could go back in time and tell them not to fear, that Tagg dropped the price for this awesome tracker to less than $100.

Seriously, if you have a pet that moonlights as an escape artist, you really should look into this one. With it you can track your pet’s shenanigans 24/7 through your computer or smart phone. It will even send you a text and an email to let you know if they wander outside of a certain area that you set beforehand. (Right now I’m pondering how I could make use of this, and some sort of PA system, to tell our dog Sally to step away from the cat box when we're not in the house.)

The second handy gadget on my list today may just help you figure out how in the world your cat manages to get all the way up there, or perhaps where all your pens and paperclips have gone. We all know our pets act like they’ve just been snoozing all day, devotedly awaiting our return – but we don’t buy it for a minute, do we?

Enter the Dogtek Eyenimal digital videocam for pets. Attach one of these to your pet’s neck and invite yourself into their day-to-day life (try to ignore that your floors look like they haven’t been swept in the last two weeks as you watch the video that was snagged on the first day). The Eyenimal will assist you in keeping your pets out of trouble while you’re gone, but it’s worth what it costs ($129) based on its entertainment value and insight into the way pets see the world alone.

I’m a huge fan of creativity. I stand in awe of all of the brilliance I see as I meet people, and of course as I browse the vast resource that is the internet. When our Pack Leader first showed me the Lifeform 3D portraits, I immediately began creating a mental list of all the people they’d make a great gift for.

Using PhotoSculpt technology, which is a canvas-like material that can be sculpted like clay, they take an ordinary image and turn it into a 3D portrait, which creates a much more life-like look. This video from their site shows some of the process that goes into making the portraits. Check it out.

What is your favorite pet-related high-tech gadget? What attracted you to it in the first place? Tell us about it!

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Read more about Pets and Technology:

• Paw Sense: Prevent Kitty Cyber Attacks
• Technology Designed For Cats
• 3 Gamer-friendly Commands for Pets
• The IBM Cat-Brain Connection
• The Computer Guide for Cat Lovers