Pet Lovers Finding Love Online

Singles have been meeting other singles through their pets for years. Time after time, someone walking his or her dog begins talking about the pet with a stranger and then, one thing leads to another.

One single dog owner, named Rob, tells The Early Show resident veterinarian Debbye Turner, "I have dated someone from the dog run. It's a nice place to meet people. because everyone's guard is down, and people are enjoying their pets. It's a very open place to meet people."

Parks allowing dogs have been a meeting ground for humans for many years but now, Turner reports in the conclusion of The Early Show series "Looking for Love," pet owners need only log on to their computers to find a date.

In a new twist to online dating, some singles these days not only want to know the eye color, height, and hobbies of potential mates but, in many cases, they want to know whether the other person owns a pet.

When Jeff Sickles first noticed Christy Bixler four months ago on an online dating site, he had an idea of her personality een before they met.

"I thought that she would be sort of you know, fun, outgoing, energetic, you know," Sickles recalls. "Kind of have a zest for life, you know, the way that cockers are. And I was right."

Sickles was surfing a site geared to pet owners and pet lovers, animalattraction.com. And when they finally met, their first date was at a dog park, of course.

Bixler says there's something about a guy with a dog that seems to soften women up: "It really does. …I think there's just a sense of devotion."

And dating another dog lover brings an automatic understanding of the demands of owning a pet, Bixler adds: "I've dated guys in the past, and they don't understand: After work, I can't necessarily go out and meet them immediately for dinner or go over to their place. I've got to run home and take care of her.

Bixler and Sickles can thank Dan Cohen for bringing them together. Dan is the founder of animalattraction dot com.

"It just kind of hit me," he says, "that there should be a tool for people who have this passion and enthusiasm for pets to connect with one another."

Members create a profile on the site, as they would at other dating sites, but this site asks questions such as, "Tell us about a pet you've known and loved."

"In a lot of instances," Cohen says, "having a pet is a lot like having a child. So if you're going to develop a relationship with someone, you need to understand the things that are important to them. So having that in common, prior into entering into any kind of relationship, is really helpful for people.

Bixler concedes meeting people through sites such as animalattaction.com strikes some people as strange.

"The first reaction is like, 'You went to a dog web site? Oh my gosh. Is she a dog, or is he a dog? What kind of people go to this?' " she laughs.

Cohen has a simple answer to that question: "People who own pets tend to be warm and caring and responsible people. And it just seems that they're -- they're more nurturing."

But are pet owners particular? Are pug owners attracted to, say, lab owners?

"You probably aren't going to see a guy with a black lab walking down the street with a woman with a little purse dog," Cohen observes, "because someone with that type of dog may be a little less active, whereas the person with the lab is probably out running with the dog, you know, enjoying outdoor activities."

Ninety percent of U.S. pet owners agree, Turner says, that they wouldn't date someone who didn't like their pet. So, it seems animalattraction.com and the dozen or so similar sites out there are onto something.

"I've had to break up with guys in the past," Bixler says, "just because I felt they weren't welcoming to my dog. And as much as we got along, I felt like I was neglecting her. And I'm sorry, but I made a commitment to her before I met you."

"It's great," Sickles added, "to be with somebody that knows the ins and outs of, you know, having a dog. And that it's a lifestyle."

For those who still aren't quite comfortable with online dating, many sites like animalattraction host live social events where people can meet face to face.

Animalattraction's events carry the slogan – appropriately – "Party like a dog."