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SAN FRANCISCO: Teenagers have online cliques at
MySpace; students star in Facebook; LinkedIn is an Internet
networking stage for professionals; and dogs and their human
counterparts run with the pack at Dogster.
San Francisco-based Dogster is a
flourishing social networking website for canines, referred to as
“animal companions” instead of “pets” in the politically
correct City by the Bay.
Among the furry friends featured
on the website is Annie, an 11-month-old female beagle from the US
state of Tennessee.
Annie loves carrots, belongs to a
group called “Beagles R Us” and is humbly described as “nice
with large ears.”
Her roster of friends includes
Tank, a Shar Pei in South Africa; a New York City golden retriever
named Copper, and Beanie, a poodle living in Malaysia.
Annie has a blog, an online
journal, to share her thoughts and adventures with friends.
She is among more than 290,000
dogs worldwide with Internet personas portrayed in profile pages on
Dogster.
Felines have a kindred website,
Catster, which is purring along with more than 121,000 members.
Dogster founder Ted Rheingold
credits the birth of the pooch-oriented website in January of 2004
to a simple observation.
“I realized there was nowhere
to make a webpage for your dog, or more importantly, there was
nowhere to share photos and stories about your dog,” Rheingold
told Agence France-Presse.
“You could see photos online,
but you couldn’t see their names —who’s this dog, what’s
this dog’s favorite treat, or what’s this dog’s character.”
Dogster and Catster communities
have grown to more than 500,000 members, and quickly extended beyond
US borders. Countries with the most active members are Australia,
Britain, Canada, the Philippines, Singapore and the United States.
And a few other facts give a
picture of its success. In May alone, the company made more than
$250,000, had a healthy 22 million page views for both sites, and
now has 15 full-time and three part-time employees, according to a
Dogster spokesman John Vars.
Labradors, Chihuahuas, Golden
Retrievers and German Shepherds are top dogs in Dogster
demographics.
Along with sharing a beloved
creature with the world via the Internet, Dogster and Catster
members share tips about pet care or animal behavior.
“If you have any questions
about your dog changing with age, or getting another dog or cat, all
these people are online at the same time so can give you advice,”
Rheingold said.
The websites grew from places for
exchanging pictures and anecdotes to including features such as
private message boards and lists of pets seeking homes in places
around the world.
Catster and Dogster members also
use the websites to form breed-specific clubs in cities.
A recently added feature lets
people find local pet services such as veterinarians, groomers,
trainers or dog walkers and learn how they are rated by peers.
“If you do a search right now
for a veterinarian you’ll find names, addresses, how far they are
from you, and read reviews of what other dogs’ owners think of
this vet or groomer,” Rheingold said.
 --AFP
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