Must Love Dogs: New Dating App Aims to Connect Pet Owners

What pet would you swipe right for?

Be it Tinder, Bumble or Plenty of Fish, there are myriad ways for single Vancouverites to find love online. And though each app or site has their own templates and algorithms to help you meet “the one,” Lonnie Powell, co-founder of the Just Love Animals Society, noticed one thing missing from all of them: “They never ask you about pets,” he says. “What if you started dating someone who doesn’t like your dog?”It’s a question he and wife/business partner Jordan Illingworth have often asked their friends and, according to Powell, “every single one of them said they’d run.” Enter Sexy Beast, a new dating app developed by the animal-loving couple (scheduled to launch in conjunction with this weekend’s Pet-a-Palooza festival in Yaletown and available for download September 1). “It’s for people looking to meet-up, people looking for relationships, people just looking for someone who has the same interest in French bulldogs,” says Powell.The pair describe the new dating app as a mix between Tinder and Hater Dater, except this time, you’ll be swiping left or right on photos of pets (though the app does have a collage feature that allows you to include some selfies, too). Every few swipes, you’ll be asked random questions—Have you ever cheated on a test? Have you ever gone skinny dipping? Do you feed your pet single-ingredient treats?—that will help better match you with other pet owners in the city. “We’re not reinventing anything that hasn’t been,” says Powell. “We’re just making sure that you both have like-minded thoughts when it comes to animals—it’s based upon the fact that you have something in common.”The app also features some kitschy elements, like the ability to send “frisky kitty” and “wiener” pics (photos of long-bellied dachshunds), and is open to any pet owner, or simply animal lovers open to meeting a pet-paired partner. “I don’t discriminate,” says Powell. “If you like lizards, there might be a small pool of partners to meet, but any animal lover can create a profile.”

To receive a notification of the launch, visit sexybeastdating.com. The app will be available for download September 1; though the app is free, users must purchase a monthly subscription ($4.99) in order to send messages and photos.