YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community


Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member!

Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us.

Go Back   YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community > All Else > Off Topic Discussions
Register Blogs FAQ Calendar JavaChat Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 07-29-2007, 03:33 PM   #1
YT 6000 Club Member
 
fasteddie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 6,238
Default [News] Company Rents Pets to Animal Lovers

SAN FRANCISCO (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, 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's hired a caretaker who plans to keep the dogs at her house when they aren't 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.

Since signing up, Gonzalez said a black Lab named Jackpot has become a treasured part of her social network. They spend an average of one day each weekend together. He sleeps at her apartment and she takes him on hikes, to the beach and to parks frequented by other dog owners. The money spent on her membership has been well worth it, she said.

"I never even thought that was a possibility," Gonzalez said. "I thought you either owned a dog or you didn't."

Although she has never seen the doggy day care center where Jackpot spends his off-days, Gonzalez recently met another of his part-time companions, graphic designer Jenny Goddard, 33. Goddard, who is married with a 6-year-old son, said having a dog a weekend or two a month has been perfect for her busy family and encourages them to spend more time together outdoors.

"It's funny," she said. "He is so friendly and immediately playful with us, people are surprised he is a rental dog."

The idea of commitment-free pets is not entirely new, although no one in the United States has tried it with as much drive as Cervantes. Most private animal shelters, for instance, encourage volunteers to become temporary foster families to animals awaiting adoption.

For 15 years, the Aspen Animal Shelter in Colorado has gone a step further with a Rent-a-Pet program that allows residents and tourists in the resort town to take dogs out for a few hours or overnight for free.

"It benefits the homeless animals, keeps them socialized and exercised and in the end they end up getting adopted," said owner Seth Sachson. "The people benefit, too. When a tourist walks around town with a dog, they feel like a local."

Melissa Bain, a veterinarian with the Companion Animal Behavior Program at the University of California, Davis, said she had concerns about, but no hard-and-fast objections to a service like FlexPetz.

On the positive side, it might give people an easy way to test the ownership waters and keep a few dogs from being euthanized, Bain said. Possible downsides would be irresponsible members who treat the dogs like a lifestyle accessory instead of a living thing.

"It depends on the people and it depends on the animal. Some dogs may be fine and some may become stressed because they are moving from home to home," Bain said. "Perhaps they had a good experience with a good part-time owner and then they get shipped back. What kind of message does that send to kids? That dogs are disposable."

Cervantes said the hour-long sessions Flexpetz members are required to spend with their dog and a trainer before their first outing ensures the dogs are going into caring, competent homes.

Her members, who range in age from 5 to 60-plus, include single women in search of security and a conversation starter, Navy personnel who love dogs but are at sea for much of the year, and seniors who live in apartments where dogs are not allowed.

"Usually, our dogs are lavished with attention, and it's undivided attention from our members because it is the only time they have together," she said. "Some people take a dog home and realize, 'Hey, I can adopt a dog.'"

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
__________________
YODA & WINKY R ::: RIP Winky ::: RIP Yoda!
fasteddie is offline   Reply With Quote
Welcome Guest!
Not Registered?

Join today and remove this ad!

Old 07-29-2007, 11:24 PM   #2
Donating YT 7000 Club Member
 
MeganS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 12,016
Blog Entries: 1
Default

I think that is a good idea. It probably brings joy to a lot of people. But I have to wonder if it confuses the dogs. Or stresses them out...
__________________
Megan
"I have my dreams, I have made plans." - The Pirate Queen

All Gave Some; Some Gave All
MeganS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2007, 11:33 PM   #3
Piper & Sebastian
Donating Member
 
Yorkiekids's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: florida
Posts: 14,495
Default

No way. How can you rent a dog. Your suppose to love and care for your best friend. Not rent it like a tuxedo that you can return when you're done with it. I think it's a horrible idea, and probably stressful and confusing to the dog.
__________________
Susan, Piper ,Harley & Suiki
Yorkiekids is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 04:18 AM   #4
Donating YT 1000 Club Member
 
Willow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,890
Default

Um, I don't think I like it, but I understand why they are doing it...but I hope it doesn't spread like hotcakes across the US...I certainly am interested in where the dogs are kept if they aren't being "rented"...I mean, are they spending their "off days" in a cage or what?
__________________
Alycia Autumn Gizmo Maddie
Willow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 07:53 AM   #5
Rosi & Poli's Mom
Donating Member
 
RMKC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Washington State
Posts: 5,428
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yorkiekids View Post
No way. How can you rent a dog. Your suppose to love and care for your best friend. Not rent it like a tuxedo that you can return when you're done with it. I think it's a horrible idea, and probably stressful and confusing to the dog.
I strongly agree !
__________________
ROSI & POLI
Love my Babies
RMKC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 08:22 AM   #6
I Love My Lil' Punkin's
Donating Member
 
stedmansmommy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Stedman and Tatum's World :)
Posts: 15,331
Blog Entries: 5
Default

The concept of it is good - but, I don't see how the dogs ever get to really *bond* with people. And I can only imagine how confused they must get, bouncing back and forth from house to house - person to person. Poor babies.

I personally think that this could be very stressful to an animal - I don't know....dogs are not OBJECTS - I don't think they should be "RENTED"
__________________
Mommy Loves Stedman and Tatum!

They have us wrapped around their little paws!
stedmansmommy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 08:35 AM   #7
Donating YT 1000 Club Member
 
cheeselover8481's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: knoxville
Posts: 1,537
Default

I think it's a great idea. You think the dogs would have been better off at a shelter? What if nobody bought them from the shelter...then what? I agree with all of u about this being confusing for the dogs. It has its pros and cons. I hope they do a temparment test to make sure the dog is ok with change. I know Rosie wouldn't mind meeting new people all the time I hope they do good background checks to make sure the renters won't harm the dog; however, I don't think anyone would pay that much just to harm a dog. Also, I hope the company treat the dogs well. Then again, like i said before, this life might be better than being at a shelter.
cheeselover8481 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 08:43 AM   #8
Donating YT 3000 Club Member
 
ellie81's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South Florida
Posts: 5,314
Blog Entries: 1
Default

I read the article in my local newspaper. That's just nutts!!!! I mean, it says that it has been brought by the same people that created things like drive-thru grooming and gourmet dog food delivery, which it's ok for the convenience of the dog owner, but this???? this is using them like a thing!.
__________________
Ellie and Bengi
Bengi Is Home!!! - http://youtu.be/8OKv35pk5Pk
ellie81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 08:45 AM   #9
Jojo's & Junior's too!
Donating YT Member
 
Josie's Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Watsonville, CA
Posts: 1,379
Default

It seems like it could be a good thing. And then I just can't help to think how the Pet's feels about going back and forth to several places.

I just want the Pet's to feel loved and happy.
__________________
Josie, Jojo, Junior & Veronica
**...No Home is Complete Without a Yorkie...or Two...better make that 3!..**
Josie's Mom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 10:07 AM   #10
Our Blessings R Many
Donating Member
 
Baby Blessing's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the shelter of God's Loving Care.
Posts: 3,095
Blog Entries: 1
Default Not in favor of this at all.

It came to my mind, is this the answer to some individuals and maybe will be to some other people when the mandatory spay/neuter law goes into effect through this state here in Calif. It has been made law in our area already in Calif. and which already is going into being a law in many places through-out the United States. Later on there won't be the precious ones available for us as a loving pet owner so then what, will these God's precious creation for us all to love be a rental $$$$$$$$$$$$ making gain for some, plus the state. Of course the politicians have to get their increase in wages from someplace so why not approve these things.

I would believe that they had to take a license out to do this and also that through their insurance company they would need to be insured big time. But all that put aside, what the real issue here is the dogs being from here to there and not having the individual bonding they are so deserving of in their daily life in a home where they are loved and wanted all the time.

Pets are like us they need the individual bonding to someone that has them forever and not something such as this.

I totally don't like this rental idea for many reasons. Most people in general that love pets and want a pet live in dwellings that allows them, I know this is something we always made sure of before moving into a place.

This in my opinion is not a good thing. Wonder what is next to be here in California? All this being said it is merely one little ole ladies opinion, mine.
Baby Blessing and DollieDae say include us in on this Mom.

Patti
Baby Blessing is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2007, 02:21 PM   #11
Chloe's Mommy!
Donating Member
 
PuppyLovinNurse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Cornwall, ON
Posts: 1,968
Default

I'm appalled!!! Those poor babies. I can't imagine what they must be feeling!
__________________
Sara & Chloe
PuppyLovinNurse is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks



Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off




Google
 

SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 08:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167