A poll of 2,003 Britons by John Lewis Pet Insurance found that of those who own a cat or dog, six percent have set up a Facebook or Twitter profile for their beloved pet, with some well-known names getting in on the act. A similar study from PetPlan, found that one in 10 UK pets have a profile on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Elizabeth Hurley’s pet parrot Ping Pong (@PingPongHurley), “an enchanting blue fronted Amazonian parrot,” is tweeting to thousands of followers. Some of Ping Pong’s thoughts have been: “Keeper is in New York filming her silly TV show, leaving me in charge here. I’m demanding snacks on the hour-and getting them. Chortle;” “The Human’s [sic] can be thoughtless. In the Amazon, I’d never give guests beetles without, for example, a generous helping of earwig juice;” and “I just got given 12 raspberries from Keeper’s garden. Not bad. Would prefer them with double cream, though.”
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s dog, “Beast,” has his own Facebook profile with over 150,000 likes. Recent posts to Beast’s Facebook profile (www.facebook.com/?sfrm=1#!/beast.the.dog) were, “Sometimes I dance to rap music;” “I went on a hike this weekend and picked up 20 ticks;” and “I think I’m going to get neutered tomorrow.”
While it’s possible to add pets to a social networking site focused on people, there are plenty of social networking sites specifically for pets. Petzume, Catster, Dogster, LoveMyPets, Yeepet, PetCrash and Critter are all communities for pet lovers and the creatures who live with them. Since none of these pets are able to post alone, it definitely seems that there are plenty of humans with time on their hands, who are reaching out for companionship — and not of the furry, feathered or scaly type.
