In this photo taken on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, Vaidas Gecevicius, who developed an app helping to match stray dogs with potential owners, poses for a picture with a dog and shows this dog’s profile on the app in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of enthusiasts have launched an app that helps match aspiring dog owners with stray dogs. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
VILNIUS, Lithuania — If the pooch melts your heart, swipe right.
Animal lovers in Lithuania have created a mobile application inspired by the popular dating app Tinder to match up dogs in local shelters with new owners.
Called GetPet, the app was launched last month and is getting hundreds of new users daily and already has made a few matches.
“It is like Tinder, but with dogs,” said Vaidas Gecevicius, one of app’s creators. “You can arrange a meeting with the dog — a date.”
The app features profiles of furry four-legged creatures looking up with soft yearning eyes. Scrolling down reveals more information about the pup, and those interested can then swipe right.
But there are limits to the Tinder comparison. The dogs don’t get to have a swiping experience. If you swipe left another dog profile appears.
Gecevicius said the app only features dogs for now but the plan is to eventually include cats and other animals.
Two friends, Emily and Elena, recently scanned the app and then visited the SOS Gyvunai shelter in Vilnius to meet Piff, a medium black-and-grey mongrel. They took him for a walk in a snow-covered park and said they would return soon to take him home.
In this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, stray dogs look out of the enclosure. in Vilnius, Lithuania .A group of Animal lovers in Lithuania have created a mobile application inspired by the popular dating app Tinder, to match up dogs in local shelters with new owners. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
“I think it’s actually a very great idea because in Lithuania we have a lot of stray dogs and a lot of people who want to adopt,” 24-year-old Elena said as dogs nearby ran around in outdoor cages barking.
Ilona Reklaityte, the shelter’s founder, said she is very happy about the innovative approach to an old problem.
“I really welcome this new app as it gives us more chances to find our pets new owners and a new home, and that means we can then help other dogs still on the streets,” Reklaityte said. “We have 140 dogs right now. Sometimes we give away one or two of them every day, but now we receive (many) more calls and people are coming more often.”