Heavy Petting

Bruzo SacheR does not suffer from modesty. His Facebook profile declares he is the most handsome fellow in town.

Pets and their owners use social networking sites to interact

Bruzo SacheR does not suffer from modesty. His Facebook profile declares he is the most handsome fellow in town. Reo Agarwal keeps it simple,he woofs at will,and Daki and Tabaqui are probably looking for new profile pictures for themselves. All in a days work for these dogs and their owners,who are the new Facebook addicts. From making new friends with other animals who have logged on to Facebook and other social networking sites,to playing virtual games with their human friends,there has been an online pet invasion and its full of licks,woofs and wags. While sites such as Petfacebook,Fuzzster and Humanpets provide an exclusive platform for pets and their owners to interact,there is a greater animal presence on Facebook,Orkut and Twitter. My pets are as dear to me as my children. There is no reason why they shouldnt be on the net, says Priyanka Bamford,33,make-up artist,who has made a Facebook profile for her three-month-old Great Dane,Frankie,and eight-year-old Yorkshire Carrier,Smokie. Kezievino Zinyu,a student at Amity University agrees: My cat Saleem Jr Zinyu is a part of the family. Thanks to his Facebook profile,my relatives can check out his latest photos.

The pet profiles are managed by the owners (who are listed as parents or siblings) and function like any other account. So dont be surprised if you see a pet commenting on your friends picture,followed by their trademark woof woof and if you are lucky you might even get a lick. It is fun to comment on other pets pictures, says Palak Mashiwal who also invites comments on her dog Browneys profile. Akshi Singh is not an active Facebook member,but she operates the profiles for Daki and Tabaqui. Bruzos owner,Anjali Sachar thinks that a pets profile gives leeway to do things which one cant do through their own profile,like writing creepy comments on someones pictures. Requests from pets are more readily accepted, says Sachar.

Though there are more dog profiles,cats,hamsters,rabbits,guinea pigs and birds have also logged on. Through my bird Chirpies profile,I have got in touch with bird owners from world over, says Suvina Singal,16,who kept her bird Chirpies profile active for as long as she was alive. After Chirpie died,I deleted her profile, she says.

The new trend also has the friends of pet owners excited and has prompted many to adopt pets online. Ekta Srivastava,who has made profiles for both her dogs,Cookie and Cuddles,on Dogbook,says,My friends play with them and buy candies for them online.

Also popular among owners is the Facebook application called Dogbook. Instead of asking for your dogs age,the site has an option which says loved since. There is Catbook,Horsebook,Fishbook and even Ferretbook. Facebook and Orkut have specific communities that brief users on how to make a profile for their pet. The sites also mention the relationship status of the pet. For instance,Astha Agarwals three-year-old pug Reos status says hes engaged.

There are also several pet dating websites on the floor and sometimes the owners of the pets end up being together. People look for similar interests in their partners and often the common concern for animals leads to other things, says Geetika Nigam,23,founder and owner of puppylove.in,a website that helps find mates for dogs. Woof!

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