Virtual Pets

Maybe you're working long hours away from your dog, or maybe, like me, you live in an apartment where you can't have a dog at all. Whatever the reason, if you're having dog withdrawals you might try adopting a virtual pet. Some suggestions:

SLDogs provides dogs for Second Life avatars. The dogs come in several breeds (though no labs, I was sad to see), and can learn several tricks, including "pee." This is not a trick I've ever longed to teach a real life dog, but it's probably amusing in a virtual world where no cleanup is required.

You can also get yourself a dog on Facebook with Pet Pupz or Pet Puppies. (You might also try Pet Dragons, Pet Muppets, Pet Smurfs, or many other pet options.

Or you can skip all these social networking sites and go straight to Virtual Dog, where you can adopt a pretend puppy and explore a whole virtual world with your new friend. Or check out Furry Paws, a website that lets you raise, train and show your virtual pet.