Rent-A-Dog Service Introduced

(AP)  From the state that popularized purse puppies, drive-thru dog washes and gourmet dog food delivery comes the latest in canine convenience; a company that contracts out dogs by the day to urbanites without the time or space to care for a pet full-time.

Marlena Cervantes, founder of FlexPetz, bristles when people refer to her five-month-old business as a rent-a-pet service. She prefers the term "shared pet ownership," explaining the concept is more akin to a vacation time share or a gym membership than a trip to the video store.

"Our members are responsible in that they realize full-time ownership is not an option for them and would be unfair to the dog," said Cervantes, 32, a behavioral therapist who got the idea while working with pets and autistic children. "It prevents dogs from being adopted and then returned to the shelter by people who realize it wasn't a good fit."

FlexPetz is currently available in Los Angeles and San Diego, where Cervantes lives. She plans to open new locations in San Francisco next month, and in New York in September and London by the end of the year.

She's also hoping to franchise the FlexPetz concept so the dogs will have housing options other than kennels when not in use. For San Francisco, she has hired a caretaker who plans to keep the dogs at her house when they are not on loan to members.

For an annual fee of $99.95, a monthly payment of $49.95 and a per-visit charge of $39.95 a day (discounted to $24.95 Sunday through Thursday), animal lovers who enroll in FlexPetz get to spend time with a four-legged companion from Cervantes' 10-dog crew of Afghan hounds, Labrador retrievers and Boston terriers.

The membership costs cover the expense of training the dogs, boarding them at a cage-free kennel, home or office delivery, collar-sized global positioning devices, veterinary bills and liability insurance. It also pays for the "care kits"; comprised of leashes, bowls, beds and pre-measured food; that accompany each dog on its visits.

Charter member Shari Gonzalez said she was thinking about getting a dog when a dog trainer she consulted suggested part-time ownership. At first, she had reservations.

Gonzalez, 22, never doubted there was room for a dog in her heart. The issue was her life, which included a small, two-bedroom apartment and a full-time schedule of college classes in San Diego.

"I was thinking, 'How is a dog going to bounce from house to house and be OK with that,"' she said. "I didn't want a dog that would come into my place and pee."

Her misgivings were allayed after she spoke with Cervantes, who explained that only dogs with social temperaments were picked for the program and that each would ideally be shared by no more than two or three owner-members.

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[olebd]

Stupid humans!

[grammawhamma]

This just goes to show how spoiled and irresponsible people are. They want the fun part of having a pet but not the responsibility that goes along with it. Did anyone do the math on the cost of this? If you would rent a dog from this place three days a week for one year the total comes to approx. $6,940.00! How foolish. These people should instead volunteer their spare time at the local humane society.

[kennergirl]

I agree with most of the posts here. The article talks alot about how people feel about "renting a dog" but I can't imagine a dog liking moving from pillar to post like that. I have a dog (a great mini dachshund) and couldn't imagine having to bring her back every day! My kids would kill me.

Maybe my life isn't as busy as these people but I can't imagine how odd that is to "rent" your dog?

[cpaide]

i think this could work for just about anything: spouses, kids, parents, in-laws--you name it!

people here in california are so damned superficial with their relationships anyhow, no one would notice.

[bequialife]

In Hawaii, there is a similar program for people who are on vacation, it is for people "suffering" from "pet separation anxiety". You could actually rent a pet while you are on vacation if you miss your pet at home.

Overall, don't like it. Pets get very attached to their mommies/daddies.

[jetlizhan]

i don't like this concept one bit. a dog needs one owner from the time it's bought, adopted, etc until its death. how sad for the dogs to be shuffled here and there. no, don't like it one bit. i'm totally against it.

[renwoman1]

I know the law thinks of a dog as a commodity but I totally disagree with what she is doing. This can't be good for the dog no matter what she says. I think it'll be very confusing to the dog to have multiple owners and I wish she would reconsider this.

[citizenusa-2009]

A former co-worker of my came up with this idea in 1987. He called it "contract pets" and said it would be especially useful for divorced men who had their kids on the weekend. We laughed until we peed our pants!! Now it's a reality? OMG!!

[petesis]

Thats nice. I cannot imagine why you seem to have problems with men.

[random_radar]

Just like the bumper sticker says: "The more I learn about men, the more I like my dog!"

Men have been patronizing "Escort Services," but there was nothing for women--until now. Now busy women can rent a dog for a companion and forget about men.