At a party on Sunday I met a lil chiwawa-esque pup called Peanut. He scampered all about then got tired and fell asleep in my arms after I set down the marg. Shoulda taken pictures –
I’m not allowed to have pets in my apt, but love dogs — and so I let out a lil yelp of glee when I read about Flexpetz this morning. Basically, it’s a rent-a-dog program — like Flexcar, except with dogs.
Well I’m a Flexcar member, so why not become a Flexpetz member too?
Except David Markland at blogging.la laid out the costs — I’d have to plunk down $309.83 in registration, maintenance, service, and rental fees to spend my first day with a Flexpetz doggie. “Some people get paid to do the above: it’s called dogwalking,” David points out.
These pets are super pampered. Flexpetz have shown up at the Oscars and at the W hotel (for “doggie happy hour”)…. Branches, which offer doggie delivery service, are in Santa Monica and San Diego.
My new goal: Get my friends in Santa Monica to trade out their cats — which I’m v. allergic to — for dogs. I’ll dogwalk for free, but I’m not paying $300+ for the privilege –
Flexcar, in contrast, costs just $35 for an annual registration, then $10 or less per hour of car use. One note re: Flexcar — I’m not so into the emblazoning of the Flexcar logo all over the cars, cuz I don’t like feeling like a Flexcar employee when I rent it….
Somehow I’m uncomfortable with the idea of FlexPets—they’re not commodities or fashion accessories—pets are commitments. I hope they’re treated well, at least.
Comment by Jasmin — May 1, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
As a dog lover myself, I sent the FlexPets site on to a friend who owns a pet care service business for her input. She made the following valid points, “It’s like renting a baby for a day! People are so non-committal and they see animals as disposable accessories. Does anyone ever think that this type of lifestyle might confuse the dogs?”
She’s right, thumbs down on this operation. Shame on me for not seeing the issues clearly to start. Rescue dogs or not, there is something wrong with this concept.
Comment by tj — May 2, 2007 @ 7:30 am
I agree with the other comments. And would also like to mention that Simon is NOT getting traded for a dog. But if I come across a dog for you to visit, I’ll let you know.
Comment by erin — May 2, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
You can make good money walking dogs. A couple of years ago, I ran into a Gothamist article, saying that a full-time dog walker makes $50k a year in New York.
http://www.gothamist.com/2004/02/02/the_most_personal_of_questions_how_much_do_you_make.php
Comment by jason — May 2, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
I guess I was thinking overidealistically, but I sorta thought “renting” a Flexpetz would be like taking care of a friend’s pup for the weekend — because the dogs’d be with their owners / business owners most of the time. I mean, at these prices, these dogs aren’t going to be rented out all that often (one would think / hope).
But yes, monetizing companionhood does bring up all sortsa weird probs –
Comment by Siel — May 2, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
when you say these dogs are “super pampered” I think we all need to remember that luxury hotels are not the goal of dogs. A good, loving constant owner and companion are paradise on earth in their eyes.
Comment by J — May 7, 2007 @ 11:23 am
My daughter and I had the same reaction when we heard about renting a dog-it has to be the most cruel and uncaring thing to do to a dog. Can renting a baby be far behind for these people who have such “compassion” for living beings?
Comment by Shirley — June 23, 2007 @ 4:20 pm