First, it was personal information uploaded in dogs,facebook,pet care,safety measures,social communities,work culture that got a lot of criticisms, and now, a new word has emerged – and they call it petworking.
Social 'petworking' sites could put members and their pets in danger, experts have warned. How? Online communities have witnessed a rise in the number of owners who are revealing breed information, details of their walking routine and posting pictures, while creating profiles for their pets on the Internet.
Debbie Connolly, Animal Behaviourist and Founder of SafePets UK, fears that pet owners may easily be inviting troubles like dog-knapping, if they are not careful enough to limit their information on 'petworking' websites. "Never mind the dogs, what about personal safety? Most of the users are women. It's a 'please stalk me and steal my dog' site," Sky News quoted her, as saying.
However, there were a mixed reaction from people, and some believed that these websites, at least a few of it, help pet lovers with genuine information on how to rare a pet. There were a few who argued that such websites just offer fun for genuine animal lovers. Geoffrey Roche, creator of Dogbook, an application from Facebook, said that the 'dangers' involved were like anywhere else on the rest of the WorldWideWeb. He corroborates: "Of course you should be careful, but no more so than anywhere else on the internet. People can put up faux profiles anywhere, and the same sort of things to watch out for would exist for if you meet someone through your dog."
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Social 'petworking' sites could put members and their pets in danger, experts have warned. How? Online communities have witnessed a rise in the number of owners who are revealing breed information, details of their walking routine and posting pictures, while creating profiles for their pets on the Internet.
Debbie Connolly, Animal Behaviourist and Founder of SafePets UK, fears that pet owners may easily be inviting troubles like dog-knapping, if they are not careful enough to limit their information on 'petworking' websites. "Never mind the dogs, what about personal safety? Most of the users are women. It's a 'please stalk me and steal my dog' site," Sky News quoted her, as saying.
However, there were a mixed reaction from people, and some believed that these websites, at least a few of it, help pet lovers with genuine information on how to rare a pet. There were a few who argued that such websites just offer fun for genuine animal lovers. Geoffrey Roche, creator of Dogbook, an application from Facebook, said that the 'dangers' involved were like anywhere else on the rest of the WorldWideWeb. He corroborates: "Of course you should be careful, but no more so than anywhere else on the internet. People can put up faux profiles anywhere, and the same sort of things to watch out for would exist for if you meet someone through your dog."
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