Fur starts to fly over pet-rental scheme
By adamg - Thu, 05/01/2008 - 7:09pm.
Roslindale's Pet Cabaret provides links for people who want to ban dog rentals in Massachusetts:
... If you think dogs and cats should not be used and returned like ZipCars, now's the time to do something about it. Waiting even a few weeks could be too late. FlexPetz, which rents companion dogs by the hour or day, is poised to open in Boston soon. Once the door is open, other pet rental businesses will follow. All aggressively promote the "disposable pet" mindset, to the detriment of animals--and those of us dedicated to rescuing them. ...
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Evidence, Please?
It would seem to me that "pet rentals" could possibly cut down on the number of people who act on whim and adopt an animal they can't be responsible for just because they want a friend now and then. If you enjoy pets but don't want to own one full time for various reasons, you can still enjoy them in this way without neglecting one, or realize that you do/don't have room in your life for an animal.
I also heard that many of the borrowers end up adopting their favorite companions anyway, but I'd like to see some actual data on that. Perhaps a "try before you buy" might lead to better pet/human match ups and fewer regrets and returns. Sort of like borrowing your friend's kids for a weekend.
What about?
Pet Therapy!
Sometimes just a little bit of exposure to an animal, that you have no means or intent to fully care for, has been proven to be extremely beneficial to your health. This could be seniors, permanently disabled/hospitalized patients, or even just lonely people.
If the company cares for the animals, I'm not sure I'm seeing the issue.
Standard Poodle in LL Bean
We met a very nice standard poodle in LL Bean in Freeport last summer. Like us, he was on vacation - he was a professional therapy dog by trade. But while he was on vacation, he got random and depressed if he didn't visit with lots of people. That's why he got to go shopping and friend his fellow shoppers.
Like this professional people lover dog, I'd bet the rental puppies would know who their primary caregiver was. Many of these "arguments" against the practice smack of the same wierd arguments some extreme people level at working mothers who put their kids in childcare.
The MSPCA should try this -
The MSPCA should try this - they can make some money and people can have trial periods with animals they might end up adopting.
They do
The original article said that you can get a day dog in a red "adopt me" vest.
The problem is that they don't hold their required trainings at any time that a working person can attend them, at least not in NYC where FlexPets operates.
Does anybody know if there are Boston area programs for this?
It's OK to pay a dog walker, but not to pay to walk a dog?
So, let me get this straight. If you have a dog full-time and want someone else to care for it occasionally, you can pay them to do that, or they can pet-sit for free as a favor to you. But if you want to play with a dog occasionally, it's immoral to pay for it?
Now, I don't quite see the business model working out- you could always just pet-sit for free, so why pay someone to let you pet-sit, right?
But I don't quite see the immorality making any sense at all.
I love my doggies
As an animal lover I can see how the 'renter' may not be able to keep a pet but the benefits of having it in a temporary situation is all they need. I read that many people adopt the dogs. Are they using rescue dogs for this or trained perfect dogs? My friend told me she wanted to try this and she is a completely normal animal lover living in a non pet friendly building.
Trial is good. If I had a trial on my second rescue puppy I might have had a second thought(JOKING!)
I think they should put some prophits to local shelters/MSPCA!