P&G, NBC Launch Pet Owners Site

By Dan Sewell

Procter & Gamble Co. and NBC Universal on Monday announced launch of an online site for dog and cat owners.

Among the features on petside.com are interactive health and medical information, social networking, online shopping and videos with tips such as ones from veterinarian Lauren Hurowitz. There’s also information about dog and cat breeds, adoption, and lost-and- found help.

“Our goal was creating the most comprehensive destination site for pet lovers,” said Jeannie Tharrington, a spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based P&G. She said petside.com will be promoted on NBC’s “Today” show and its women-oriented iVillage.com networking site, among other media.

The site in part promotes P&G’s Iams brand but is meant to draw a variety of advertising support, she said.

An estimated 60 percent of American households have pets, spending more than $40 billion a year on them.

Pet food-maker Nestle Purina Pet Care Co. partners on a Yahoo Inc. site that includes health and medical resources, advice forums, videos and cable TV’s “Dog Whisperer,” Cesar Millan. Purina and P&G’s Iams brand pet food also offer resources for pet owners on their own company Web sites, among the myriad online sites aimed at pet owners.

The ZiZo Group helped develop the new site.

Originally published by Associated Press.

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