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.

Creator of world’s most realistic virtual pets to license popular FooPets social gaming application on two of China’s largest social networks

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. – August 26, 2009 – FooMojo, Inc., creator of the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets, today announced plans to extend its global presence in the Asia-Pacific market and expand the availability of its virtual pets-based social gaming applications throughout the region. As part of the initial stage in the company’s plans, FooMojo will open FooMojo Asia K.K., a regional subsidiary located in Tokyo. FooMojo Asia K.K. will focus on business development partnerships and marketing in Asian markets particularly China, Japan and Korea.

The company also announced today that it has reached an agreement with Oak Pacific Interactive (OPI), the holding company of RenRen.com (previously Xiaonei.com) and Kaixin.com, two of China’s largest social networking sites with close to 100 million members together. Under the terms of the agreement, FooMojo recently released a Chinese version of its virtual pets social gaming application on the RenRen and Kaixin social networks. Now, when registering on RenRen.com or Kaixin.com, every new member can select a FooPet and automatically engage in the social game.

“Historically, Asia has been an influential, driving force in the virtual pets space and our partnership with FooMojo is very strategic in helping us tap into the growing use of social games and applications that is spreading rapidly throughout Asian countries,” said Joe Chen, chairman and CEO, OPI. “FooMojo has successfully created a very entertaining and engaging social application uniquely based on the emotional attachment consumers feel for their real-world pets. The realism of FooPets already has a broad appeal across our membership and we are seeing significant traction on our  social networks.”

“With the popularity of domestic pets, FooMojo’s social game environment based on lifelike virtual pets and pet-oriented virtual goods is proving to have broad global consumer interest,” said Dr. Ron Hornbaker, veterinarian, founder and chief executive officer of FooMojo, Inc. “By expanding operations into Asia, we will continue to build our global presence and increase adoption with custom, regionalized virtual pets that appeal to consumers throughout this important market. We’re excited to work closely with OPI, as they have a deep understanding of our products’ potential in China.”

FooPets are the world’s most realistic and emotionally engaging virtual pets. As part of an entertaining social gaming environment fun for users of all ages, FooPets take on their own individual lives and develop unique personalities. They are easy to recognize due to their lifelike appearance and behavior.  Once adopted, they need daily care and attention and rely on their owners for food, water, playtime and affection.

Within the FooPets environment is the newly launched Fooniverse, a parallel virtual realm where owners and pets can play like no place in the real world. After entering Fooniverse, FooPets owners access fun games and activities such as shopping at the FooBoutique and dressing pets in the latest trendy fashions; competing in FooFashion Shows against other fashion savvy pets; and spending time in the FooFoto Studio for a professional photo shoot where fashion shots of pets striking their best poses are taken.

Because FooPets are completely web-enabled, they live in favorite online locations across the Internet including Facebook and MySpace profiles and the new FooPets.com Web site. For Chinese users, FooPets can be found on RenRen.com and Kaixin.com.

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.

Today our young company comes out of the stealth mode we’ve self-imposed for the last year with the announcement and private beta of FooPets, the world’s most realistic virtual pets.

I’m incredibly proud of our team, and honored to have led them to this milestone. As we roll out the FooPets site and experience over the next couple of days, we’ll finally learn the public reaction to months of very hard work.

Please sign up for a beta account at FooPets.com; we’ll get you in as soon as possible, and we’d love to hear your feedback.