Rent-A-Pet Could be Coming to Your Town
FlexPetz is a San Diego-based company and they are looking to expand. Customers of theirs include busy professionals who do not have time to own a pet – FlexPetz rents pets to busy people. Right now, they are located in Los Angeles, New York, and London. They plan on expanding to Boston, Washington, San Francisco, and Paris. Monthly membership costs $280 – for that you get four daylong rentals (additional rentals are $45 per day).
The time you are allowed to spend with the company-provided pet ranges between just a few hours, or the whole day. I can’t help but wonder who in their right mind would pay for such a thing…..and I can’t believe that a company like this is legal. Do you think it’s a good idea to be able to rent a pet? I understand that some people lead busy lives, and although they would like a pet, they simply don’t have the time for one but it seems very silly to rent one for a day. What does that accomplish?
What people don’t realize is that animals have feelings too, and constantly changing the environment you are living in as well as the people around you cannot be good for the dog. The change of scenery could turn into behavioral problems for the dog, and they are much better ways to be around dogs that are more rewarding. If you are too busy, why don’t you volunteer some time at your local animal shelter? It is free for you, and you will be helping others out at the same time. This is a much more worthwhile cause, and it allows you to get what you need from the animals while not causing them any harm.
With the recent talk about puppy mills, I bet some of you are wondering where the company gets their animals and what happens to them when they become old or sick. Well, the company claims it’s dogs are usually rescues “whenever possible” and are placed in permanent homes when they become old or sick. They also claim the dogs have a primary caretaker and members are carefully screened. Just because someone is screened doesn’t mean they should be able to have a dog for a full day.
It is worth noting that the dogs being taken from the shelters are ones that would be most desirable to long-term adopters. This means that they are taking a pet from a permanent home to giving it a life of being rented out. Currently, a bill is being proposed in Massachusetts which would prohibit the rental of pets. What is our society coming to, and what’s next – rent a baby?
Animals are living things, they are not movies that are delivered to your house with their pre-paid postage that you can send back when you are through….they have feelings, and I can’t believe the people that rent them – how can you be in favor of this? It makes no sense to me.
If you want to learn more about how to stop this business from spreading, send an email to: CPRpets@aol.com. This email address is for the Coalition to Prohibit the Renting of Pets, and they will be able to give you more information as to how you can help.
I would like to leave you with a final thought: it seems to me that if you don’t have time to own a pet, then you probably won’t have time to spend with a rented one. Owning a dog, taking care of a dog, and spending time with a dog is not something you would want to do in an hour, or for a day. Having a pet is like having children, some people get incredibly attached to their animals and I would be attached within the first 10 minutes. I don’t see how anyone with a heart could participate in this.
If you are a busy person, and you currently are a member of this service, I strongly encourage you to cancel your membership and sign-up to volunteer at your local animal shelter. Companies with little regard for animal life, and quality of life should not be taking our money.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject! Please leave me a comment!
Thanks for reading!! As always your participation in comments and discussions are encouraged and greatly appreciated!!