Season’s Greetings! It’s that time of year again – the holidays! With all of our favorite foods, beautiful decorations and fun festivities, it’s hard not to get caught up in the spirit of the season. But with this special time of year comes additional safety hazards for pets and the FooCrew wanted to help out our furry friends with a few holiday tips every owner should know about.

Quite a bit of detailed information on holiday pet safety is available from an expert post at Peteducation.com. Be sure to check it out. The post discusses several great suggestions for surviving the holiday hustle and bustle while keeping your pets as healthy and happy as ever. Several potential dangers we might not think about are mentioned such as holiday foods we innocently slip our pet from the table that can make them sick; popular plants that are poisonous like mistletoe and poinsettias; decorations and wrappings that can be lethal; and even Christmas tree needles that are toxic.

It’s hard to believe many of our favorite holiday traditions can be hurtful to our pets but with a little knowledge potential harm can be avoided. Remember to take extra care this season and watch your pets closely.

As we kick off the season on Thanksgiving Thursday, we wish you all health, happiness and safe pets in the coming year.

FooCrew Lynne

With flu season well underway, the H1N1 virus is a very important topic on many people’s minds. It seems like every day, more information is released about the virus and recommendations for helping to prevent it. While obviously the focus has been on humans, there are some concerns for our pets as well.

Last week, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) issued a post on their website about a recent case in Oregon where the H1N1 virus spread to pet ferrets from their owners. There are other recorded cases where cats and birds have also been infected. Currently there is no H1N1 vaccine specific to domestic animals so it’s important to watch your pets closely for signs of a respiratory illness or lethargy. If you notice these symptoms you should have the animal examined by your veterinarian immediately.

To help prevent the spread of H1N1 to your pets, standard techniques to prevent the spread of influenza are recommended. These include hand-washing and using alcohol-based hand cleaners, covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Try to avoid close contact with sick people and stay home from work or school if you are sick. If you are sick, you may want to limit contact with your domestic pet, bird or backyard poultry until you are well.

The good news in the Oregon case is that all of the infected ferrets recovered, so watch your pets closely and take careful note to follow H1N1 prevention recommendations. If you’d like to learn more information, please visit the AVMA’s website where you can find a helpful H1N1 FAQ.

Let’s keep our pets healthy!

FooCrew Lynne

Today, Henry Blodget, CEO and Editor-In-Chief of The Business Insider, wrote an interesting article about the hot new business of virtual goods. Henry’s post mentions FooPets as a great example of a virtual environment that emotionally engages users and motivates them to purchase goods with virtual currency. If your interested in the virtual goods business, this post is well worth the read. Thanks Henry!

One of my favorite things about being on the FooCrew is our “unwritten” perk – we’re allowed to bring our pets to work with us if we want. Some of us bring them in occasionally but a few of our pets actually come to the office everyday. The FooCrew puts in a lot of hours so letting us bring our pets in gives us much needed bonding time.

While not everyone can bring their pets to work, spending time with them is very important for their overall emotional health. Building a trusted relationship based on sincere, wholehearted love forms a bond that is truly unique – both in the life of the animal and the owner. It does take time and commitment but there are lots of easy things you can do with your pets that help them form a strong attachment with your “pack”. (more…)

For the FooCrew, Halloween is a favorite occasion we all look forward to. And believe me, we take it very seriously! The kind of “seriously” that involves dressing up our furry friends in elaborate costumes. We also like to share our creativity which means we proudly engage our pets in Halloween activities such as public appearances and participation in a wide variety of contests. There are a lot of fun Halloween things to do with your pets this time of year so don’t be too “spooked” to get the leash out and join in.

This year, we wanted to bring a little of our Halloween spirit to FooPets and help everyone get their scare on. For a limited time, we’ve “dressed up” our Heart Park and transformed it into a creepy landscape your brave FooPet will want to explore.

Dress your FooPets up in their favorite costumes and go play in the Halloween Park. Sound scary? You bet – right down to the hidden ghosts, tumbling jack-o-lanterns, tombstones and special sound effects. But what’s Halloween without some treats to go with your trick? In this park, it’s a race against time while your pets search for glowing candy corns and other lost and lonely treats. Think your FooPet can collect them all before time runs out? Only the clock will tell! But don’t forget to give it a try soon because this ghoulish game will be gone in a skeleton’s heartbeat – right after October 31st!

Happy Halloween!

FooCrew Lynne

Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a great story about the request for new scientific studies exploring the health benefits of companion animals. The article discusses the affect the interaction between humans and animals can have on development and health and whether this interaction has therapeutic and public health benefits.

As most of you probably know, the original idea for FooPets – very realistic looking and behaving virtual puppies and kittens – came from the imagination of our very own veterinarian, Dr. Ron. Having lots of experience with the love, devotion, and emotional attachment shared between people and their pets, Dr. Ron strongly believed realistic virtual pets could bring a similar strong bond of pet ownership online.

Now while the NYT story focuses on studies about real-world pets, one could ask whether any possible health benefits experienced through the bond of pet ownership might also be experienced from a virtual pets environment? We hear from users all the time about how they consider their FooPets a part of the family and how much they enjoy caring for them.

Given the lack of current scientific studies incorporating virtual pets experiences into research, it could be a very long time before we know for sure whether the same kinds of health benefits can be derived from online interaction with virtual pets compared to real pets.

We do know this information as a starting point, though. Several of our users have shared their personal experiences with FooPets and the emotional benefits they have received. We have been contacted by parents/grandparents teaching their kids about pets; people who are bedridden due to illness or injuries; parents who are caring for children with disabilities; people who live alone or feel isolated; and even people who can’t have real pets because their living arrangements won’t allow for them.

Regardless of the specific situation, the response to FooPets from these users is very similar. They express how much they enjoy their FooPets, how happy their pets make them, and how much they love to see them at feeding or play time. In some cases, we’ve been told that FooPets give something to look forward to, something to help cure blues, or something positive at the end of a tough day. This kind of feedback is especially rewarding for the FooCrew and we’re very thankful our users have shared their stories with us.

I think most would agree we don’t necessarily need scientific research to tell us that a lot of satisfaction and joy comes from caring for our pets. Whether real or virtual, the wag/swish of a tail, sound of a playful bark/meow, or an enthusiastic chase of a favorite toy can be all it takes to make any day a little brighter.

FooCrew Lynne

We recently launched a new FooPets Feedback Forum and have been getting a lot of suggestions from awesome FooPets owners who have great ideas to share. One cool idea that came in was to sell pre-paid FooDollar cards and make them available in popular retail outlets. Well, we’re happy to announce we just took this feature live!

You can now buy an Ultimate Game Card in $10 and $20 face values at thousands of retails stores – including all 7-11s, Rite-Aids, and Toys-R-Us locations – and redeem them in our FooBank for FooDollars. For every $1 USD on your card, we will give you 10 FooDollars in exchange. For more information on Ultimate Game Cards, click here.

With all the ideas come in, we’ve got a lot of cool new features in the works. Thanks to everyone for helping us out and please keep the suggestions coming in!

FooCrew Lynne

FooMojo Opens New Virtual Fashion Mecca in the FooPets Social Gaming Website

Released from beta, new ‘Fooniverse’ lets trend-savvy virtual pets owners put their styling skills to the test with fun new activities and competitive games inspired by the fashion world

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. – September 28, 2009 – Today, some of the world’s most renowned trendsetters are the stylishly dressed, frequently photographed pets that belong to famous celebrities and socialites. Now, in the FooPets.com social gaming environment, virtual pets owners can engage in the same fun experience of turning their beloved pets into the next top fashionistas. (more…)

This week, Associated Content wrote a great story about safe, fun websites for kids and FooPets.com made the list. The article mentions many other awesome websites for kids that are new and different so check it out. Thanks, Leslie!

FooPets owners can now pick breeding partners and share the fun of building their own virtual pets family tree

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. – September 8, 2009 –FooMojo, Inc., creator of the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets, today announced FooPets Breeding, a new  feature of the FooPets.com virtual pets social game that lets owners take part in planning and building their own FooPets family trees. Individually or together with a friend, FooPets owners can now breed two FooPets and raise a litter of puppies and kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. During the breeding process, FooPets owners are responsible for proper care of their FooBabies including feeding and watering, providing required healthcare and when ready, arranging for adoptions to good homes.

“Pet breeding in the real-world can be very rewarding but it’s a process that requires hard work, a substantial time-commitment, financial resources and dedication,” said Dr. Ron Hornbaker, veterinarian, founder and CEO, FooMojo. “FooPets Breeding gives virtual pet owners the opportunity to experience the excitement of building and caring for their own pet family tree but also raises awareness that there are serious responsibilities involved.”

FooPets Breeding is an entertaining and fun way to learn the aspects of pet breeding. For owners, creating their own personal FooPets genealogy can be an exciting experience. Every parent and baby FooPet has a unique personality profile that tracks the pet’s character traits determined by their breed. Personality profiles help owners find optimal breeding partners based on desired pet personality and behavior. Over time, FooPets family trees can evolve based on breeding history and bloodlines.

With FooPets Breeding, owners experience a condensed, comprehensive, simulation of the real-world breeding process. Once owners purchase a litter license and select a breeding partner, they can pair FooPets for conception, followed by a gestation period and then delivery. At delivery in approximately four weeks time, between four and seven adorable baby FooPets will arrive. After a two week weaning period when parent FooPets watch after the litter, baby FooPets then will require two weeks of careful attention from their owners before they are ready to be adopted. At this point, baby FooPets are old enough for adoption to good homes. By giving or selling baby FooPets to family and friends, owners can join their family trees and share in the fun of crafting personal FooPets genealogy to include specific desired traits and characteristics.

FooPets Breeding

Availability:

FooPets Breeding is now available in the FooPets social gaming application. Because FooPets Breeding involves bringing new, live virtual creatures into the world, serious responsibility is required. For detailed information regarding rules and guidelines, please visit http://www.foopets.com/breeding.

Many different breeds of FooPets puppies and kittens are now available for adoption on different locations across the Internet. For Facebook and MySpace users, FooPets can be adopted free-of-charge through the FooPets application. FooPets also can be adopted free-of-charge on the newly launched FooPets.com Web site.

About FooMojo, Inc.

FooMojo is the creator of FooPets, the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets. The 3D puppy and kitten FooPets are “real” in nearly every sense, growing, playing, learning tricks, developing personalities, and requiring regular feeding and care. As part of an entertaining social gaming application, users of all ages can adopt a FooPet on Facebook, MySpace, and the FooPets.com Web site, with more locations coming soon.

Aimed at enriching the lives of real people and animals with engaging, social game play, FooMojo was founded in 2007 by Dr. Ron Hornbaker, a veterinarian who believes the special bond between people and their pets could be recreated online. FooMojo’s creative and development efforts are led by a talented group of web developers, along with artists and animators from the feature film and gaming industries. Most importantly, FooMojo is committed to supporting real pets in need, and through its non-profit FooPets Foundation, works with leading animal-related charities such as the ASPCA and The HSUS.

Located in Redwood City, Calif., FooMojo is backed by notable investors including Softbank Capital, Softbank Corp. Japan, Mike Maples, Jr., Ron Conway and Baseline Ventures. For more information visit http://www.foomojo.com.