Pet-friendly dating sites match up people, pooches

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

On these dating sites, a passion for pets will help you find more than just puppy love.

Sites such as PetsDating.com and YouMustLoveDogsDating.com have found a new niche as singles flock to computers and smartphones to find relationships, connecting dog owners to potential mates who enjoy long walks in the dog park and slobbery canine kisses as much as they do. Many of the sites encourage users to bring their dogs on first dates to break the ice or size up canine chemistry.

Many dating sites cater to religious, cultural and political preferences but won’t focus as heavily on interests such as pets, music or travel, said Karen North, a professor of social media at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism.

“If you find somebody with the same lifestyle passion, you don’t have to start out at square one,” North said.

“Dogs on first dates are amazing icebreakers,” said Kris Rotonda, the founder of one of the dog-focused dating services, YouMustLoveDogsDating.com, who started up the site last year that now has 2 million members. “You find out right off the bat how everyone in a relationship will fit in.”

But some veterans of the dating-service industry say focusing on a canine connection only adds an extra hurdle to finding love.