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NBC’s Kathryn Eisman ReportingThe newest trend in dating is logging on, finding that special someone through your computer. Well, if it can work for humans, why not pets?
These days, every man and his dog is making friends online.
Elizabeth Fugler, Dogster.com User: “Fancy's webpage, it has several pictures, talks about her likes and dislikes, and pet peeves, if you can imagine that."
You've probably heard of "Friendster", the online community for connecting groups of friends. Well, for the socially ambitious animal lover, there's 'dogster'.
The highly sophisticated website allows users to create a webpage for their furry friend. And, if they like the lick of another canine, they can leave a virtual bone for them, or invite them to join their doggy community.
Elizabeth Fugler: "Fancy is popular. The first day that I added her web page, she had 20 invites to be friends."
And to say we're doggone crazy is an understatement. In the year and a half that Dogster's been online, over 125 thousand pet owners have signed up their four legged friend.
Ted Rheingold, Founder, Dogster.com: "There are about 10 thousand new users that join up each month. And, there are four hundred new pets that join every day. People will write to thank me that they reconnected their puppy with another dog from the original litter, and they go and visit and now, those people go on playdates with their sibling pets."
Dogster is the brainchild of a San Francisco based web designer who just happens to be dogless.
Ted Rheingold, Founder Dogster.com: "Because our landlords won't, we're in San Francisco, and we can't have a dog. And I said, you know, I can make a site where anyone could upload their dog and we could share it with everyone and then, everyone else could get to enjoy it."
Just ask David, who rescued his dog from a greyhound track.
David Toti, Dogster.com User: "There's a resource for health questions, dog rescue leagues, helping the animals in the recent hurricane disasters."
Pants' web page is a collection of rather amusing pictures designed to find him puppy playmates. From taking long, romantic walks along the beach, to goofing around.
David Toti: "Shots of him in action, running around, sleeping. That's about all he does."
It's not just Dogster. Many other websites are getting on the doggie bandwagon. And while it's clearly fun for the dog owners, when it comes to finding genuine puppy love, are we barking up the wrong tree?
David Toti: "I don't think we can really choose who they'll be interested in. I don't think they'll be interested in looking at a profile. I think they're more interested in a sniff test. (laughs)"
