Wag Bank, the “bank” for dog lovers, is “on hold.” These are sad days for affinity banking.

The service was first announced in October 2011 and began beta testing in the fall of 2012. Now the bank’s original site, dog-bank.com, points to a placeholder page for a dormant domain name. Another site associated with the bank, wearewag.com, to which dog-bank.com redirected traffic as recently as this summer, today carries the following message:

Wag is currently on hold.

The development of Wag is currently on hold. Thank you for your interest and support. Now go play with your dog!

Wag was the first of a planned series of affinity-based banks from Tribed, whose website is also out of commission. It displayed an error message and a few lines of code today. Tribed itself was a product of creator Jeff Stephens’s marketing agency, Creative Brand, which appears to be up and running. Here is Creative Brand’s announcement of Tribed and Wag from 2011.

Other planned affinity banks from Tribed were related to fitness and healthy living, such as cycling.

Stephens did not respond to requests for comment. UPDATE: Stephens wrote the following to Bank Innovation several hours after the story posted: “I have decided not to pursue Wag and Tribed any further. I still believe very strongly in the concept, but I don’t feel like I’m the entrepreneur to bring it to fruition at this point.” We thank him for his response and wish him the best.

The tagline Stephens used for Tribed was “meaning in your banking,” and this is certainly a much sought-after goal that eludes most banks in the wake of the credit crisis.  Wag was a good idea. In an era of widespread disenchantment with traditional FIs, Wag offered a potentially deeper and more meaningful financial experience. Specifically, users enjoyed discounts on dog-related items, the opportunity to socialize with other dog lovers (in beta testing the service was limited to the Portland, Ore., area, where Creative Brand is based) and donating to dog-related charities. If you love dogs, wouldn’t you love this bank? Isn’t this the ultimate “sticky” service?

Perhaps not. In the wake of Perkstreet’s failure last August due to lack of funds, it seems like difficult days for boutique services that look to personalize the financial experience.