Social networking for the dogs
Though dogs have long been considered mans best friend, you still cant send your favorite pooch a friend request on Facebook. One Brighton resident hopes to change that by bringing local dogs into the digital age with Dogways, a new social network for dog owners and businesses.
Dogways, which launched at Pet$aver Healthy pet Superstore in Brighton on April 27, combines the functionality of Facebook, Craigslist, and more to provide a community-based resource for all things canine.
It allows you to connect your dog, which is a very social animal, and yourself to the entire community all in one space, said Andy Simon, the Brighton resident and Pittsford Sutherland graduate who founded the site.
Like Facebook, Dogways is free to use, and each user gets his or her own My Dog page. Businesses get their own pages as well, and users who frequent those businesses are invited to connect them to their dogs page.
Dogways connects dog owners to other dog owners, but also to professionals, Simon said. Besides the basic social networking features you'd expect, when you click on My Dog and you see your profile, you see her groomer, her trainer, her walker, her sitter, all the services that are attached to my dog.
The key, Simon said, is that its all searchable. Users can search dogs by breed, size, location, whether theyre open to playdates, and more. A user looking for a groomer for her poodle, for example, could search for local poodles, then check their profile pages to see which groomers they use and recommend.
Users can also add each other to their respective friends lists, and searches can be limited to friends recommendations, as well. A community-based calendar ensures users know whats happening on the local scene.
It just becomes an entire ecosystem, Simon said.
Simon was inspired to create Dogways while raising, Marley, his West Highland White Terrier or Westie. Living in an apartment in downtown Rochester at the time, he and Marley eventually started seeing another Westie owner while out on walks.
Next thing you know we're walking together, next thing you know my dog's having play dates, I'm running over to let her dog out, and you realize, especially if you're single, it's kind of hard to raise a dog on your own, he said.
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Social networking for the dogs