FlexPetz… the pet rental debate…

Gucci, an 18-month-old Pomeranian, can be rented once a week for £279 a month. He is the first of a dog fleet for hire by FlexPetz in Britain…but so far the only one on the roster…

While pet rental appears to be popular in the US where FlexPetz now operates, (New York, Boston, San Diego and Los Angeles), there is an outcry in Britain led by Robert Brown MSP (Lib Dem, Glasgow Region) and championed by the Kennel Club as FlexPetz tries to expand their operations overseas.

“I am shocked that dog rental businesses describe themselves as a service targeted at dog-lovers. Dog renting is an idea which will horrify most dog owners and dog lovers and encourages irresponsible attitudes towards dogs.”  - Robert Brown MSP

Perhaps… and perhaps not. ABC News did a good report on FlexPetz in April 2007 where they outline the costs for pet rental and some perspectives about how this business works and a little about how it was founded.

Cervantes (owner of Flezpetz) came up with the idea of sharing dogs when she was working with autistic children. She first shared her own dog with the kids and then adopted two rescue dogs to share. The cost of keeping the dogs, however, became prohibitive. So she decided to turn the sharing idea into a business. 

Buck Wolf of Weird News offers his take on pet rental as akin to prostitution. Ahem! No doubt he views horse rental (riding stables) in the same way. Horse loving city dwellers be warned!

For those people who would really love to have a pet around but for one reason or another cannot provide adequate full time care, this service could prove (and is proving) to be important. Is this wrong? Selfish? One just has to think of the excellent response to “visiting pets’ from the elderly and hospital shut-ins of all ages to understand the value of a part-time pet.

The hue and cry in Britain is about emotional stability for the pet. This is, without question, important and it would appear that the owner of FlexPetz has factored this in with the training and screening processes that are done before someone is allowed to rent a pet.

The humane societies suggest taking their pets for a walk… also a great idea. One is required to be screened for this as well which is positive.  The downside to this is that one cannot create a long-term bond with a pet from a pet shelter as the pet may no longer be there on the person’s next visit… they may get adopted or have been put down, so from this perspective, it is not ideal.

For people who travel a lot or cannot provide adequate full-time care for a pet due to very busy schedules, but would really like to have a connection with a pet, renting a well-cared-for pet that is shared with only a small number (5) of others sounds like a good option? This would be the pet’s extended family. Just because a person cannot look after a pet full time does not necessarily mean that they cannot look after a pet for a few days. City dwellers who board their horses understand this concept… other people care for the horse and  exercise the horse when you cannot.

As for the business aspect… Cervantes appears to care for both people and pet. She developed this pet sharing idea to help autistic kids into a business so that she could afford to provide this service to others. Proper pet care is not inexpensive. And in terms of attracting responsible people serious about sharing a pet, the considerable rental fees £3348 per year (rougly $6,700.00 USD) may also serve as an initial screening process. It would seem that people willing to pay a hefty sum for the privilege of sharing the care and upkeep of a shared pet and for the enjoying of part-time pet ownership, are as serious pet lovers as any other pet owner.

The idea of a well-managed pet rental sounds like a great idea for those pet lovers who still want to include pets in their busy world in a responsible way.  For more information about this new service for pet lovers please visit the Flexpetz site.

We invite your comments about this topic.

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About the Author:
Becca Ross is a free-lance writer and a confirmed pet lover.  She is a regular contributor of articles at www.MillionDollarPetPix.com