JEFFERSON, Md. -- A Frederick County man who designed software that helps veterinarians keep track of animal records plans to use it to reunite pets that were separated from their owners by Hurricane Katrina.

The president of The Caplen Co., Patrick Allen, and his staff, will leave Thursday for Houston, where they will ask hurricane victims for information about their missing pets.

"There's a tragic human cost down there in terms of displacing humans, but there's an entire animal kingdom down there as well that's displaced," Allen said.

Video: Two Teams Leave Md. To Rescue Pets

The crews hope to match pet descriptions and possible photos with missing reports. The database can also contain where the animals were last seen.

WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Rob Roblin reported two teams from the company will leave this week, one to Texas to gather information from pet owners and the other to the Gulf Coast to help set up the software.

"The animals deserve a chance, too. This will provide us the chance to set up a database so owners hunting for their pets can find their pets easier," said Leigh Barner, of The Caplen Co.

The team will then head to the disaster zone to photograph stray and dead animals for identification. Allen will build a database that will be shared with humane societies across the region.

The costs will be covered by corporate sponsors.

Stay with TheWBALChannel.com and WBAL-TV 11 News for the latest Hurricane Katrina updates.