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ERICRISBERG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Russell Gipson Shearer displays on his phone how the Whistle pet tracker follows his dog Rocket in San Francisco. ByTerenceChea The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Technol- ogy isn't just for humans anymore. It's also for their furry friends. In Silicon Valley and be- yond, a growing number of startups are selling devices to keep pets safe, healthy, entertained and connected when their owners are away. "Pet tech" entrepreneurs and investors see a big op- portunity as pet ownership grows and owners show a willingness to spend seri- ous money on their four- legged companions. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households, or 80 mil- lion homes, have pets, and Americans spent more than $60 billion on them last year, according to the American Pet Products As- sociation. "The number of pets in the world is growing ex- tremely fast and that opens up the market," said Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTe- chEx, a technology market research firm. "I'm sure five years from now there will be all sorts of things we can't imagine." Already, there are de- vices that let your pets call you (PetChatz), play games and win treats when they're home alone (CleverPet) and even speak with a human voice (Petspeak). But as more pet-tech gadgets come to market, experts caution owners against relying on them too much. "The technology can be useful as an adjunct, a way of enriching your relation- ship with your pet, but cer- tainly not a substitute for time spent with your dog," said Pamela Wyman, who runs the DogEvolve train- ing school in Oakland. The Petzi Treatcam lets Anne Ryan check on her dogs Oscar and Reggie at her Berkeley home when she's working in San Fran- cisco or traveling out of state. The Internet-connected device lets her see her dogs, talk to them, take photos and even dispense treats — using an app on her phone. "I turn it on, get to see them, get to talk to them and it changes my mood, and puts me back in a posi- tive frame," said Ryan said. "I didn't know that I needed it, but now I don't think that I could live without it." The TreatCam was cre- ated by San Jose-based Petzila, which was founded by two veteran technology executives who wanted to get their pets online. The startup also created a social media app that lets owners share pet photos. "All of the most current crazes and fads in technol- ogy were touching every- thing but the pet," said CEO David Clark. Whistle, a San Francisco startup, sells a GPS-enabled Pet Tracker that alerts own- ers when their pets have left their "safe zone" and helps find them if they get lost. The device also lets owners track how much exercise and sleep their animals are getting. Ben Jacobs, Whistle's CEO and co-founder, said the pet-tech market is ex- panding fast as pets move up the household hierarchy. "From the yard to the home to the bed — the dog is no longer out as part of the farm, but they're actu- ally sleeping in bed with you as part of the family," Jacobs said. For owners who want their dogs and cats to be more active during the day, the Petcube Camera lets them see and speak to their pets, and play with them with a laser pointer. Petcube's Ukranian founders started the com- pany in Kiev, but moved its headquarters to San Fran- cisco to reach a global mar- ket. "If we can connect all the pets to the Internet and ba- sically digitize this space, it will be nothing short of dis- ruption," said Yaroslav Azh- nyuk, Petcube CEO and co- founder. "It will be very big." PetTechofferstokeep animals safe, healthy DEVICES By Scott Mayerowitz The Associated Press NEW YORK U.S. airlines are looking to serve Cuba primarily from their large hub cities, with Havana be- ing the most popular des- tination. At least eight carriers submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednes- day outlining what routes they would like to fly. The government will spend the next few months review- ing the requests and is ex- pected to award the con- tested Havana routes this summer. Flights to smaller cities — if uncontested and lacking any contentious is- sues — could be approved much sooner. Once routes are awarded, airlineswillstillneedtimeto develop schedules and actu- ally sell seats on the flights. And while the U.S. govern- ment will set the routes, air- lines will also need to apply to Cuba's civil aviation au- thority for a permit to oper- ate in the country. All flights operating be- tween the two countries today are charters, but an agreement signed between the two nations last month allows for up to 110 addi- tional flights — more than five times the current char- ter operations. Only 20 of those flights can go to Havana, in addi- tion to the current 10 to 15 charter flights a day. The rest would fly to other Cu- ban cities. U.S. tourists still won't le- gallybeallowedtovisitCuba but the start of commercial flightswillmakeitmucheas- ierforthosewhofallintoone of the authorized travel cate- gories.Charterflightsareex- pensive, frequently chaotic and lack many of the tradi- tional supports of commer- cial aviation such as online booking and 24-hour cus- tomer service. Most of the planes pro- posed by U.S. airlines would carry about 160 passengers. American Airlines was the most-aggressive carrier in its approach, requesting more than half the possible slots to Havana plus service to five other, smaller Cu- ban cities. The airline has a large hub in Miami, home to the largest Cuban-Ameri- can population. In American's filing with the DOT, CEO Doug Parker wrote that his airline has been "the undisputed leader" in charter service, having done so since 1991. The airline notes in its application that last year alone, it operated 1,084 Cuba charters while JetBlue Airways had 221 and Delta Air Lines had four. Following Wednesday's route application deadline, airlines and the public have a chance to comment on the flights sought. That process will conclude by March 21. The airlines won't get all of their requests, but below are the routes each carrier applied to fly: • American is seeking 10 daily flights from Miami to Havana, one from Charlotte and one from Dallas as well as one weekly flight from both Los Angeles and Chi- cago. From Miami, it is also looking for two daily flights to Santa Clara, Holguin and Varaderoanddailyserviceto Camaguey and Cienfuegos. • Delta is seeking flights from Atlanta, New York, Miami and Orlando to Ha- vana. All would be daily, ex- cept for Miami where Delta is seeking two daily flights. • JetBlue is looking to serve Havana with four daily flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, two from Tampa, Florida, Or- lando and New York and one daily flight from Bos- ton and Newark, New Jer- sey. It also wants one daily flight from Fort Lauderdale to Camaguey, Holguin and Santa Clara. • Southwest Airlines wants to fly to Havana with six daily flights from Fort Lauderdale, two from Tampa and one daily flight from Orlando. It also ap- plied for daily flights from FortLauderdaletoVaradero and one to Santa Clara. • United Airlines is ask- ing for daily flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Havana with two flights on Saturdays. It also wants Sat- urday-only flights from Chi- cago, Houston and Wash- ington D.C. • Alaska Airlines wants two daily flights from Los Angeles to Havana. • Frontier Airlines ap- plied for one daily flight between Denver and Ha- vana, three daily flights be- tween Miami and Havana, one daily flight between Miami and Santiago, four weekly flights between Mi- ami and Camaguey, three weekly flights between Mi- ami and Santa Clara, one weekly flight between Chi- cago and Varadero and one weekly flight between Phil- adelphia and Varadero. • Silver Airways, a Flor- ida-based regional airline, wants to fly to Havana twice daily from West Palm Beach, once daily from Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale, five times a week from Key West, and twice a week from Jacksonville. It also proposed to fly from Fort Lauderdale to nine other Cuban cities. AT LEAST 8 CARRIERS US airlines vie for Cuba flights | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016 4 B