Give Your Dog a Tweet?

The science of separating pet owners from their money has become pretty big business over the past decade or so. It's not that surprising; we love our critters, and quite a few of us spoil them rotten. It's a marketer's dream. Now, here's big-time toy company Mattel's latest attempt to break into the often-lucrative pet owners' market.

Ladies and gentlemen, your dog can now tweet.

This fall, Mattel's "Puppy Tweets" will be popping up in a toy or pet store near you, for around thirty bucks. It's a little device that attaches to your dog's collar, and presuming your pooch is near enough to the accompanying thingamajig on your computer, it will shoot one of 500 preprogrammed messages into the digital ether via Twitter.

My first response was an eyeroll, followed by a heartfelt "Meh." You see, people are already using animal-related Twitter accounts and actually doing good and useful things with the social networking space.

There is a lot going on for animal welfare on Twitter, and the ways animal advocates are using this service go far, far beyond canned tweets like, "I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing, and . . . OOUUUCHH!"

Take, for example, Elizabeth Elliott, an attorney specializing in animal law in Washington State. She uses her Twitter account to keep followers abreast of animal stories with legal ramifications around the country, from a new animal cruelty bill in Alaska to a wrongful euthanasia case in Florida.

Other animal people on Twitter include no-kill shelter advocate Nathan Winograd, author and veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, and Change.org's own Stephanie Feldstein.

If you like to keep in touch with things related to non-companion animals, check out the Polar Bear Trust, National Wildlife Federation, or Orangutan Land Trust, to name a few. Of course, all the big groups in the animal welfare movement are also well-represented on Twitter, like the Humane Society of the US, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Obviously, this is far from a complete list of Twitter resources, and I'm sure you've got more than a few suggestions of your own (and they would look just peachy down there in the comments). But it bears repeating that all of these Twitter users are doing a whole lot more than Mattel's "Puppy Tweet" will.

Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't rush right out and buy the "Puppy Tweet" when it hits the shelves, though I probably won't follow your pooch if you do. But here's the thing to think about. Having your pet on Twitter is fine, but isn't it more important to be in touch with the myriad issues circling around the animal advocacy community? And that won't cost you $29.99.

Photo credit: cogdogblog