The MySpace for dogs lands a million in funding

OK, while MySpace is landing huge deals with companies like Google, Dogster is also getting traction. You see, Dogster is the social networking site for pets (yes, the company also has Catster.com).

Hey, doesn't man's best friend need his or her own web space? Of course.

True, all this may sound silly. But when News Corp. shelled out hundreds of millions for MySpace a year ago, Wall Street thought it was a stupid idea as well.

This week, Dogster landed a seed round of $1 million. The investors are very savvy dot-commers, like Jim Young (the founder of HotOrNot) and del.icio.us founder Joshua Schacter, who sold his company to Yahoo.

Currently, Dogster generates ad revenues primarily from Google AdSense. In fact, the company is currently profitable – which certainly is in stark contrast to one of the worst dot-com deals of the 1990s, Pets.com.

But with the capital, Dogster can get creative with business models. For example, there are certainly ecommerce opportunities.

As a dog lover, I know Dogster is brilliant. For example, this week, a friend of mine bought a $295 luxury bag to carry her dog (usually to business meetings). And, of course, her dog has a Dogster page.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.