A system and method are provided for monitoring the location of a person, pet, or inanimate object relative to the location of a monitoring device. If the person, pet, or inanimate object ("monitored object") travels from or is taken from a specified monitoring perimeter, for example 50 meters, an alarm is activated at the monitoring device to notify the guardian of the monitored object that the monitored object has moved beyond the specified perimeter. A signaling device is attached to the monitored object for signaling its location to the base station. A device for establishing the precise location of the signaling device relative to the base station are provided. If the monitored object becomes lost from the control of the guardian, devices are provided for identifying the monitored object from information stored in a distributed computing network, and devices are provided for contacting the guardian of the monitored object at the monitoring device.