Love Me Tinder: Dating App Finds 2,700 Matches for 10 Homeless Dogs

Perhaps taking a clue from BarkBuddy, an app that matches homeless dogs with people looking to adopt a new pet, pups from a New York City shelter are now being featured on the popular Tinder dating app.

Three interns at the ad agency BHH came up with the idea while participating in a competition to create a viral campaign.

“People strictly go to Tinder to find love, go there to find relationships and companionship,” Alexis Mood, one of the interns, told Adweek. “These dogs have something to give.”

Tinder requires users to have a Facebook account, so Social Tees Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter, created pages for 10 of their homeless dogs. And since Tinder doesn’t allow profiles for children, the shelter had to fib about the dogs’ ages — for example, 9-week-old Vilma is instead “26.”

The interns added the dogs’ profiles to Tinder July 31 with bios like, “Your doghouse or mine?” and “Roses are grey, violets are grey, and everything is grey because I’m a dog.”

In less than a week, 2,700 matches were found (although only one dog has been adopted so far).

Adweek reports that some Tinder users were confused by dogs suddenly appearing as potential matches.

“LMAO why are there abandoned dogs popping up on #Tinder???” one user tweeted.

Tinder users who “swipe right” to express interest will be provided with adoption information. For those looking for a shorter-term hookup, the dogs are available for fostering, or for being taken for walks.

Mood didn’t say whether her team won the BHH competition (how could they not?!), but she did tell myfox8.com that they will soon be adding more dog profiles to Tinder.

Joanie Still Loves Chachi – The Pit Bull and Chihuahua, That Is

It was a sight that would even make the Fonz shed a tear or two.

In early July, a stray female pit bull mix was spotted on the streets of Savannah, Ga., carrying a long-haired male chihuahua in her mouth. The smaller dog had a nasty eye infection. Occasionally the pit bull would set him down and gently lick his gooey eye, much to the appreciation of the chihuahua.

The BFFs were picked up by animal control officer Christina Sutherin on July 10, and named Joanie and Chachi after the two lovebirds on the ’70s TV sitcom, “Happy Days.” Chachi immediately underwent surgery, but his ruptured eye could not be saved.

A few days later, he was reunited with his lady love, “and shelter staff were treated to an emotional reunion of the two canine friends, complete with licking, whining, caressing and finally cuddling,” according to a July 16 update on the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department’s Facebook page.

“It’s not every day we get to see such devotion between two special dogs like this,” Sutherin said at the time. “They are both such sweet animals. But the relationship they share just sets them apart. It would be wonderful if we could find a home that could take both of them. But that is not always possible.”

If this were a “Happy Days” episode, the show’s theme song – performed very, very slowly by violins – would start up right about now.

…But hold those violins! Sutherin, who in February received a Civilian of the Year award for her work with shelter animals, was able to find a new forever home for Joanie and Chachi in Florida. They will relocate there this month, after the waiting period required by state law to transport animals across state lines after inoculations has passed.

Here’s hoping Joanie and Chachi last a lot longer than 1982’s short-lived “Happy Days” spinoff. I’d like to dedicate its theme song, “You Look at Me,” to a very special pit bull and chihuahua.

Photo credit: Facebook

More Dogs’ Lives Will Be Saved Thanks to New Federal Law

On Friday, President Obama signed into law the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014, which “ensures that veterinarians who treat animals caught in disasters, pulled from puppy mills or animal fighting rings, or otherwise located in remote areas may legally transport, administer, and dispense medicines without fear of violating federal regulations,” according to the ASPCA.

The new law enhances and clarifies the existing Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which prohibited veterinarians from transporting the drugs they needed to euthanize, anesthetize or manage pain in animals across state lines or away from where the vets were registered to do business.

The bill was introduced in the House by the only two representatives who are veterinarians: Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Ted Yoho (R-FL). It was introduced in the Senate by Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Angus King (I-ME). It passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.

Schrader was motivated to sponsor the bill after rural veterinarians who treated large animals and used their residential address as their primary place of business began getting notices from the DEA in 2012, warning that they were violating the Controlled Substances Act.

“Today is a victory for veterinarians across this country, but more importantly, it’s a victory for the health and well-being of the animals they are entrusted to care for,” Rep. Schrader said in a statement when the bill was passed by Congress on July 8.

“Ridiculous bureaucratic interference from the DEA would have seriously impeded veterinarians’ ability to properly treat their patients. The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act will provide veterinarians with the certainty they need to continue to providing mobile or ambulatory services for their animal patients.”

Prompted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), thousands of vets sent letters to Congress in support of the bill.

“This commonsense legislation will allow veterinarians the ability to provide complete care to their animal patients beyond their clinics,” the AVMA stated.

Photo credit: Tony Alter

Canine Cremains Can Soon Be Sent into Outer Space

Does your dog love to howl at the moon at night? After he crosses the Rainbow Bridge, you’ll be able to send him there, thanks to the brand-new Celestis Pets.

Houston-based Celestis, Inc., which since 1995 has sent cremated human remains on trips to outer space and back (including those of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry), announced this week that its new Celestis Pets spinoff, launching this fall, will provide the same service for dearly departed dogs and cats.

While the “Luna” trip to the moon will cost at least $12,500, more affordable round-trips into orbit will be available for $995 and up. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Rescued Pets Movement.

“Our pet service flights are an idea that’s been a long time coming,” Celestis CEO Charles Chafer said in a press release. “Over the years we’ve received so many requests to include pets in our memorial spaceflights and we’re very excited to extend this tribute to our animal companions.”

One gram of your dog’s cremated remains, or a lock of his hair, will be sent into space in an individual capsule on a commercial launch vehicle. “All of our pet pioneers will fly with science experiments and spacecraft that advance human knowledge and protect the planet and its living creatures,” according to Celestis Pets.

Afterward, you’ll receive a certificate verifying that your dog completed the spaceflight.

The first departed dog departing on the inaugural flight this fall will be Apollo (seriously, that was his name), a blue merle Australian shepherd.

“Apollo was a remarkably intelligent dog who constantly demonstrated leadership and was almost the equivalent of an Olympic athlete,” his dog dad, Michael Potter of Los Angeles, said in the press release. “We wanted to do something to remember and honor Apollo, and Celestis Pets is an incredible way to memorialize him.”

For more information on how to one day send your dog to space, the moon or beyond, visit the Celestis Pets website.

Photo credit: Celestis, Inc.

‘Airhead’ Cop Leaves Blind Chihuahua Next to Busy Houston Highway

Little did a nearly blind chihuahua’s dog dad know that simply forgetting to use his turn signal would lead to the death of Guero, his 15-year-old dog.

No, the man’s failure to signal when changing lanes on Highway 59 near Collingsworth, Texas, on July 13 did not result in a horrific crash. A Houston Police Department (HPD) officer pulled him over for the minor violation, found drugs in the car, and arrested the man and his passenger.

After summoning a tow truck for the car, the HPD officer picked up tiny Guero – who was nearly blind due to cataracts – and set him down alongside the road.

“My husband pleaded with the officer to let him call someone to come get Guero, and asked him to call BARC (Houston’s animal shelter), but he said it wasn’t his problem, that the dog would be fine,” Josie Garcia, Guero’s dog mom, told KTRK. She said the drugs belonged to the passenger, not her husband.

Garcia posted Lost signs with Guero’s picture around the area, and three days later got a phone call from someone who found her dog.

Guero had been hit by a car and was lying dead on a shoulder of the road. Garcia wrapped his body in a blanket and took him home to bury him.

“I felt so much pain like I never knew I had,” she told KTRK.

Garcia filed a complaint against the officer with the HPD internal affairs department. Earlier this week, she told her story to the Houston city council.

“Let me give you a public apology right now on behalf of the city of Houston,” Mayor Annise Parker told Garcia. “I don’t know what airhead — there’s another word in my mind, but I’m not going to say it — would throw… you wouldn’t put a kid on the side of the road. You shouldn’t put someone’s pet on the side of the road.”

City council members are looking into city policies regarding pets involved in police procedures. The officer in this case has not been identified or made any comment regarding the incident.

The charges against Garcia’s husband were dropped – just as Guero apparently was alongside that busy highway.

Photo credit: Facebook

Exit mobile version