Rent a pet?

The article said that they do full background checks and it is not an inexpensive program - it costs over $200 a month to get into the program which allows 4 days rental per month. Any extra days are almost $50 per day. Plus, they take their time with the background checks - you cannot just walk in and rent a dog the same day until after you have passed the background check. So it is not an "impulse" thing until after you have already been accepted for membership and paid the first month's fees.

If you are willing to entrust your pets to the care of strangers; go ahead. The animals they are renting are rescued from animal shelters; not pets that they raised from babies and that are part of their family. Also, the basic idea behind it is for the renters to fall in love with these pets and adopt them on a permanent basis; so the company can rescue more dogs from the shelter.

$200 a month !?!?!?!? I'm raising two wolves full time & they don't cost anywhere near that combined. Heck, maybe I should rent them out.

Well, it may not be the "best" option; but, it is better than having to go without a pet entirely or a dog being destroyed as an unwanted pet at an animal shelter. In a perfect world, everyone who wanted pets would be able to have them and no pets would ever be abandoned and/or destroyed. Unfortunately, our world is far from perfect. Renting pets is better than people having to go completely without animal companionship and having even more animals destroyed through no fault of their own.

This is definately a "win -win" situation for both the people and the dogs involved.

Well, if you (or some other enterprising individual) decided to open this type of business there - I don't think anyone would have a problem with it - as long as you use a different name for the business. If you can't do it yourself; discuss it woth other people and maybe one of them might start up this type of service there.

Maybe this would be a good idea for your country. With the large number of people living in the cities in China, it would make sense to rent a dog instead fo trying to keep one full-time.

for renting a dog a day, we should spend about $50? hm, its quite expensive then although we have the dog food for one day. is it 24 hours renting period or in one day renting only for some certain hours? many thanks for your explanation

No, this service is not currently available in my area either. Right now, it is mainly available in major metropolitan areas (cities). It is also fairly expensive - a little more than $50 per day (this includes the dog and their food). Of course, the service would have different costs and prices in different countries and would probably be less expensive in rural areas where kennel costs were lower.

Actually, dogs are like people - they are all different; both mentally and physically. As I stated in an earlier response, not all dogs are suited to this type of life. Some would be miserable; they correspond to a human introvert. Other dogs just love people - ALL people and the more people the merrier. These are like human extroverts. This is also true of cats; and, the two cats I currently have are perfect example. Joe, is my introvert. Even after we rescued him from the shelter, he has stayed "aloof" from humans EXCEPT for my son. He decided my son is HIS person and he sleeps on him and loves him dearly. As far as Joe is concerned the rest of us could go away forever and he wouldn't care. But, if anything happened to my son, he would be devastated. Russell, is a complete extrovert. Even though this cat had been seriously abused before the shelter got him - this cat STILL loves PEOPLE. Any person who does not hurt him is fine with him and the more people to pay attention and pet and love him - the better he likes it. Any person could pick him up and walk off with him and as long as they petted him, fed him, and paid attention to him - HE WOULD NOT CARE WHAT HAPPENED TO ANY OF US. He could happily go through a different home each and every day and he would still be a happy animal. He is also VERY curious and would LOVE to explore new places all the time. The analogy of pet rental and foster care are NOT the same. For the dog, the kennel becomes home. The people who rent him are exiting day trips and vacations away from home. The dog expects to be returned "home". In foster care, there is always the uncertainty of whether they will ever be returned to their families, whether they will be adopted, or how long THIS family will keep them. There is no guarantee that they will even be fed properly or well treated (dog rentals come with food and ANYONE who mistreated the dog WOULD be discovered VERY quickly; removed from the rental lists; and prosecuted). In foster care - children are often abused and neglected for weeks, months, and even years with nothing being done. There is no comparison. Rental dogs are better treated and cared for then many of our foster children are.

There are so many reasons why people cannot keep a pet full time - leases and landlords, loved ones with allergies, and losing a pet but not being sure you are ready to love another; these are just a few of the reasons. Shelters only have enough time and space for a few volunteers; but that is one way to get your "fix". This alternate lets you take the animals away from a kennel environment for a afternoon, day, or weekend,

One of the people in the article had lost their own dog and they weren't sure thay were ready to let another dog into their lives and hearts full-time yet. Renting a dog let them "test the wates" to see if they were ready or not; or, if it was still too soon. There are lots of reasons for renting a dog and I would rather see dogs get rescued from the animal shelter than have more puppies being bred just to serve this purpose. I think renting dogs to people is 90% positive and 10% negative. There are a few drawbacks; but, mostly it is a very good program.

That is why I posted this information. This is still relatively new; so, a lot of people have never heard of it. If I tell people and they pass this on to other people; word will get around. Then, maybe more locations will start these businesses up. Perhaps, even the animal shelters could start a similar program. Then, instead of destroying animals; they could rent them to people and make money to help support and feed other shelter animals that are waiting for adoption.

In small towns and rural areas it is a lot harder to provide for these animals due to lack of funding and people from cities going to rural areas and "dumping" their pets. I do not know if a rural area would have enough people who wanted to or needed to rent pets to make a real difference or not. But, I would also like to see this type of program expand.

It is also a way for people, with a family member that is allergic to animals, to still have contact with the animals. The person without the allergy could rent a dog and have fun. Then, they would need to thoroughly shower and change into clean clothes before returning home to the allergic person.

I think a lot of people just take pet ownership for granted. But, some people would practically "kill" to have a pet; but, for one reason or another they can't. This opens up new options for them and for the pets.

Actually, you are the one of the types of person they are targeting. Someone who would like to have a pet full time; but, cannot for one reason or another - in your case your landlord. You could rent a pet for a afternoon in the park or at the beach. You could also plan a weekend trip someplace that does allow pets or even a longer vacation with one. While these agencies do hope to eventually place a pet for a full time adoption - people in your situation help care for and support these pets until they find a permanent home.