Dogster.com
SITE DESCRIPTION
Dogster.com is both a very weird site and a very clever site. With all the recent interest in social networking sites for humans, why is it so bizarre to think that there wouldn’t be one for dogs, too? Well, for one thing, dogs don’t type. For that matter, when was the last time you heard a dog speak? In fact, until computers become scratch and sniff and keyboards start smelling like collie urine, we doubt you’ll find a dog who cares all that much about Dogster.
Luckily for Dogster, it’s the dog owners, or humans, who have taken an interest in improving their dog’s social lives. What we’ve got as a result is the Facebook of the K-9 Kingdom. Users are able to upload photos, list their likes and dislikes, and express their pet’s personalities. Once your profile is complete, you’re then able to search other dog’s profiles. When you find a dog you like, you have the ability to save the dog to your corral, making it easy to find him or her again later.
While we were entertained surfing Dogster, the most glaring fact we discovered is that people are insanely obsessive when it comes to their dogs. They spend outrageous amounts of money on doggie hotels, dog carrying cases, and clothes. Should we really be that surprised that they’re willing to spend the time to make their pup some doggie buddies on the Internet?
ABOUT DOGSTER.COM
Dogster.com launched in January 2004 and has blossomed into an extremely popular and successful website. They claim their goal is to “allow for the purest online reflection of people’s love and enjoyment of their dogs and cats”, and it’s obvious that many people are eager to take advantage of the opportunity. At the time of this writing there are more than 360,000 dogs registered on Dogster.
WHAT WE LIKED
The entire concept of Dogster is really pretty cool. Who doesn’t want their dogs to be popular? The whole idea of building a profile for your dog is one thing, but where Dogster really impresses is with all their additional features. There are so many, from big to small, that we’d be spending so much time listing them, we’d have no time to use ‘em. Here are some of our favorites, though:
Ask a Question: This feature allows dog owners to write in their most pressing questions and have them answered by the Dogster community. Questions are categorized into one of more than a dozen different topics ranging from Laws & Legislation to Behavior & Training. From there the categories are divided even further into subcategories. At the time of this review, our quick math tells us there are more than 2,500 questions already posted on Dogster.
Adoption Center: It’s heartbreaking to think about all the mistreated/homeless/unloved dogs there are. Dogster has taken a giant step towards limiting that with their Dog Adoption Center. More than 2,000 dogs are looking for homes on Dogster, and you can search their listings based on the dog’s breed, size, age, gender and compatibility levels. Once you’re on a dog’s profile you can see even more about them, including whether they’re neutered or not, and how long they’ve been listed on Dogster as adoptable. We think this feature is the best thing to happen to homeless dogs since Bob Barker started his spayed and neutered campaign at the end of each Price is Right episode.
Breed Info: Listing what seems to be all the dog breeds known to man, Dogster offers a description of each breed as well as a doggie dynamics chart that is based on the tendencies of all the dogs listed on Dogster that belong to that breed. The dynamics that are measured are energy, intelligence, friendliness, playfulness, and disposition. Also on the page for each breed is a link to Wikipedia, where you can find even more info on that type of dog.
Additional Features: Forums, Doglover’s Blog, Store, Diary Central
WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE
Why should this service be offered only to Dogs and Cats? We’re claiming discrimination until we get a Hamster.com and Lobster.com. Other than that, we approve.
THE FINAL WORD
Don’t, absolutely DO NOT, go to Dogster unless you have a few hours to spare. And unless you’ve got nothing planned for the next week, don’t even think about opening an account for your dog. It’s that much fun.
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