“Why should humans have all the fun,” said a dog to his play pal, whom he met two weeks ago through a location-based social search mobile app for pets. Launched in November last year, ‘PetsApp’, an android app helps you find a play date for your pet.
The ‘dating’ app for pets, works on a principle similar to that of Tinder’s. Once you create a profile for your dog, based on your location, you get a series of prospective mates for your pooch in the vicinity. Swipe left to ignore and right to like. If both users swipe right, it’s a match and they can chat and meet up.
This app not only benefits canines, but also their owners. “You can chat with other dog lovers and start a connection based on this mutual love for pets,” says Yugal Pandey, who found a playdate for his five-year-old labrador, Benny via the app.
Creators of the app, Delhi-based couple Sujata Kukreja and Akhil Nath were inspired for a project like this when one of their dogs struggled with “loneliness”.
“It started last year, when we moved from a joint family home into a flat. We had six dogs but we took two dogs along with us. Later, one of the dogs died because of old age. The other dog a beagle, Mofie became sad and lonely,” Kukreja says.
“Naturally, we were on the lookout for a playmate for Mofie in our neighbourhood. We approached our vet before we found a suitable buddy for him to keep him away from any sort of disease,” say Kukreja. This long search inspired them to create a platform through which pet-owners could find a play date for their pets.
The app also includes some additional features. “We have a chat-enabled adoption forum (no buying and selling is encouraged), lost and found option (with a GPS tracker), pet book (which is more like a pet Instagram, were you can click, share and upload pictures of your pets and their daily antics), and information centre (articles, tips and news relating to pets),” says Akhil Nath, co-founder of PetsApp.
The duo plan to introduce ‘Ask your Vet’ service, vaccination tracker, deals of the week on unique pet products and others after monitoring the progress of the app for two months.
