Yesterday at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, all of the freaky-looking Afghans and Standard Poodles couldn't keep a humble Beagle named Uno from taking Best In Show. Which got me thinking: I take my own humble pitbull-shepherd mutt to a dogrun, and no one there ever exchanges first names. Half the regulars there, I've chatted with every week for years, and I have no idea what their names are. But their dogs -- Wolfee, Buck, Barkley -- I'm on a first-name basis with all of them. Which makes SNIF Labs' initially ridiculous-seeming social-networking product subtly brilliant. A small chip attached to your dog's collar automatically gathers and stores information about the owners of other chip-wearing dogs walking and/or pooping in your vicinity. You can then download this information (their likes, their dislikes, their dating status) when you get home, and use it to start a flirty little email communication.
"The Internet gives people the freedom to share information. The dog becomes a kind of online avatar," Dogster.com founder Tim Rheingold tells MIT's Technology Review. Just remember: no butt sniffing till the second date.
Photo: Peter Kramer, AP