New app lets dog lovers swipe right for perfect pet match

If the pooch melts your heart, swipe right.

Animal lovers in Lithuania have created a mobile application inspired by the popular dating app Tinder to match up dogs in local shelters with new owners.

Called GetPet, the app was launched last month and is getting hundreds of new users daily and already has made a few matches.

In this photo taken on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, Vaidas Gecevicius, who developed an app helping to match stray dogs with potential owners, poses for a picture with a dog and shows this dog's profile on the app in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of enthusiasts have launched an app that helps match aspiring dog owners with stray dogs. (AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

"It is like Tinder, but with dogs," said Vaidas Gecevicius, one of app's creators. "You can arrange a meeting with the dog — a date."

The app features profiles of furry four-legged creatures looking up with soft yearning eyes. Scrolling down reveals more information about the pup, and those interested can then swipe right.

But there are limits to the Tinder comparison. The dogs don't get to have a swiping experience. If you swipe left another dog profile appears.

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, Ilona Reklaityte, founder of a dog shelter, copes with two of her charges in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of enthusiasts have launched an app that helps match aspiring dog owners with stray dogs. (AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

Gecevicius said the app only features dogs for now but the plan is to eventually include cats and other animals.

Two friends, Emily and Elena, recently scanned the app and then visited the SOS Gyvunai shelter in Vilnius to meet Piff, a medium black-and-grey mongrel. They took him for a walk in a snow-covered park and said they would return soon to take him home.

"I think it's actually a very great idea because in Lithuania we have a lot of stray dogs and a lot of people who want to adopt," 24-year-old Elena said as dogs nearby ran around in outdoor cages barking.

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, stray dogs look out of the enclosure. in Vilnius, Lithuania .A group of Animal lovers in Lithuania have created a mobile application inspired by the popular dating app Tinder, to match up dogs in local shelters with new owners. (AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

Ilona Reklaityte, the shelter's founder, said she is very happy about the innovative approach to an old problem.

"I really welcome this new app as it gives us more chances to find our pets new owners and a new home, and that means we can then help other dogs still on the streets," Reklaityte said. "We have 140 dogs right now. Sometimes we give away one or two of them every day, but now we receive (many) more calls and people are coming more often."

In this photo taken on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, a potential pet owner looks at a stray dog at a shelter in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of animal enthusiasts in Lithuania have created the GetPet mobile app inspired by the popular dating app Tinder, to match up dogs in local shelters with potential new owners.(AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

In this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, stray dogs look out of their enclosure at a dog shelter in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of animal enthusiasts in Lithuania have created the GetPet mobile app inspired by the popular dating app Tinder, to match up dogs in local shelters with potential new owners. (AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

In this photo taken on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, Ruta Buisaite, plays with her new pet dog Cipe, that she adopted, thanks to the new mobile app, GetPet, at her home in Vilnius, Lithuania. A group of animal enthusiasts in Lithuania have created the GetPet mobile app inspired by the popular dating app Tinder, to match up dogs in local shelters with potential new owners. (AP PhotoMindaugas Kulbis)

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians began withdrawing euros for the first time on Thursday after the former communist nation joined the euro currency union as its 21st member.

Cash machines in the capital, Sofia, dispensed brand new euro banknotes, replacing the lev, which will still be in use for cash payments in January. However, people will receive only euros in change.

The country of nearly 6.7 million people was one of the poorest when it first became a member of the European Union in 2007. Joining the European single-currency system means deeper EU integration after its 1989 transition from a Soviet-style economy to democracy and free markets.

However, the historic milestone arrives amid political instability, with the conservative-led government forced to resign earlier this month following nationwide anti-corruption protests, and skepticism among ordinary people, fueled by fears of price rises.

The government had to beat down inflation to 2.7% earlier this year to comply with EU rules and win approval from EU leaders. But its resignation left the country without a regular budget for next year, hampering reforms and the use of the 27-member bloc's support funds, fueling protests.

Nationalist and pro-Russian groups in Bulgaria have also exploited fears that the switch to the euro will allegedly lead to more poverty and loss of national identity.

Countries that join the EU commit to the euro, but actually joining can take years and some members are in no hurry. Croatia was the last to join in 2023.

A woman poses as she holds new euro coins with Bulgarian symbols in Sofia in front of Bulgarian National Bank, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

A map of Bulgaria with the EU symbol is projected on the Bulgarian National Bank as people celebrate New Year's Eve and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

A woman holds sparklers during the celebration of the New Year and Bulgaria's adoption of euro in front of Bulgarian National Bank in Sofia, enlighten by Euro coins projection, Thursday Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Bulgarians sing and shout as they celebrate the New Year and Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in front of the Bulgarian National Bank in Sofia, Bulgaria, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)