Not anymore.

With an increase in the number of people owning animals and their penchant to provide the best for their pets, many online portals have now come up with success stories and suddenly matchmaking for pets is just a cakewalk.

"We provide a platform for people to upload their dog's details. There are two ways members can search for a mate. Either through searching or enabling notification which would inform them of their perfect match when available," says Ishita Sukhadawala, who owns dogmateonline.com.

She says she has received a tremendous response. "Our membership figure runs into thousands. Membership is free and open to dogs all over the world irrespective of their gender, age or location."

According to the India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF), "there are an estimated 3.6 million pet dogs in the six major cities alone.

Another website, puppylove.in, launched last year provides a platform to pooches to hunt for a perfect partner.

"This is basically an online social network for pet lovers and owners to facilitate pet dating. Besides matchmaking and networking, the site also offers nutritional and health advice for pets," says Geetika Nigam, the brainchild behind the portal.

Sukhadawala adds, "Not all subscribers look for life partners for pets but some of them just want a playground companion for them."

Experts point out that people have now become more aware and conscious towards the wellbeing of their pets.

"Earlier pets were used for security reasons but now people keep them for love. There is almost 100 per cent growth in the pet industry in the last 8-10 years. There is also huge demand for pet products like bedding, T-shirts, brushes, shampoos etc," says J P Gurbuxani, a veterinary doctor, who also owns Petswill, a showroom that stocks pet products in Gurgaon.

Till the nineties, pet centres were meant for vaccination and food but now the focus is on hygiene and grooming," he says.