"I wanted to offer my customers the facility of 'marrying' their dogs. I bumped into the idea of hosting a website and so www.dogskishaadi.com was launched," Viren Sharma, director of IDB, told IANS.

He claims that it is the first such website in India. "Now one can find a mate for one's dog or bitch at the click of a mouse," he adds.

Sharma, who is also secretary of the Kennel Club of Rajasthan, said that one can either insert the bio-data of one's dog or bitch along with its photograph in the website and wait for a response or select a mate by scanning the bio-data already available on the website.

In the bio-data, one needs to mention the canine's breed, pedigree, bloodline, colour, height, weight, shape and other qualities.

"I am providing this service completely free," Sharma says, adding that it is not the money but his love for the dogs, which keeps him going.

The website has become so popular that within a month of its launch the number of bio-data has gone up from 60 to almost 800. Within a month of its launch, 3-4 mating have taken place and he is optimistic that within a year, 2-3 mating would take place daily.

"The breeds whose mating are most sought after are Labrador, Dalmatian, German Shepherd and Pomeranian, in that order," Sharma says.

IDB is popular in the city because of its innovative schemes like 'buy-one-get-one-free' for select breeds.

"We also run a beauty parlour for dogs where grooming, tick bath, nail cutting, hair colouring and dye are done for dogs," Sharma says.

IDB has also started a mobile dog beauty van. "If you are too busy to beautify your canine, then you can phone us and we would come over to your place," he says.

However, this service is only available in Jaipur. IDB claims to supply dogs for the security of the Indian president.

--Indo-Asian News Service