Pets

It’s time to talk about online dating, for your dog! Two new websites are ready to hook your pet up with the perfect play date. A site called Matchpuppy.com is currently being tested in New York City, and owners in San Francisco can complete pet profiles on SpotWag.com. 


Of course, devoted pet owners are familiar with sites like Dogster and Dogspace, but Michael Chiang, one of the cofounders of Match Puppy, says those are really places for people to meet and share information. 

On his site, owners fill out profiles from their pet’s point of view. So, matches are made according to number of different characteristics, including size, weight, and age of the dog. After all, a 2-year-old Great Dane and a 12-year-old Pomeranian might not enjoy an afternoon at the dog park together because they have different energy and temperaments.

There’s another advantage to canine matchmaking: The sites allow like-minded owners to trade pet-sitting services. So, they don’t have to leave their animals in a kennel. SpotWag even searches your Facebook friend list to match your dog to the most appropriate human caretaker among the people you already know.

And for all the skeptics who thinks computer dating for dogs is silly:  SpotWag co-founder Chris Wake points out that 10% of owners already maintain a Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube account in their pet’s name.