Dogs, creatures that lack opposable thumbs and thus the ability to read or operate any device, now have a social network–sort of. Where My Dogs At, a new, grammatically incorrect app, that locates nearby dog-friendly locales and rates them with user reviews. Think Yelp for animals that make that noise a lot.
And it’s so quirky, as the Los Angeles Times notes. Instead of “checking in” to your favorite dog-friendly patio, one “marks their territory.” If a place meets the butt-sniffing approval test, you give it a “paw of approval.” Users can create a Facebook-like profile to meet other dog owners and set up profiles for their dogs. Currently free for iPhone owners (Android will launch soon), it plans to make money by offering a fee to access “secret data,” like hidden dog trails.
The app’s orange-hued, grid-like layout coincidentally looks like that of gay meet-up app Grindr or Scruff. Incidentally, in the latter you send out “Woofs” to people you like, so we’ll chalk this up to a missed opportunity.
Where My Dogs At was created by Jonathan Kolker and Gareth Wilson, two USC graduates who developed the app with $20,000 in seed funding and another $10,000 from the school’s so-called Innovation Lab. Mr. Kolker explained to the LAT why he launched this:
“Everybody loves social media these days, even dogs,” he exclaimed.
Is he also an animal whisperer?
(H/T Jezebel)
