"Rentapet"?

[Alberta Hanko]

I have read about a service that has been set up for people to rent dogs, when they are too busy to really adopt them--or perhaps their lifestyle isn't compatible. I have been reading the pros and cons.

In the beginning I was thinking it would be comparable to fostering, but as I think about this usually a foster will go to one home, not a bunch of different homes. I guess my feeling is if you don't have the time for a pet, don't rent one, but maybe do even an hour a week at a local animal shelter, just taking the dogs out for walks, whatever. Maybe because I am living with two dogs who stress easily, I keep thinking this must be very stressful on the animal.

Any thoughts on this?

Alberta & Linus

[TimberWolf]

I don't know. i too have heard of this and it could go both ways.

On one hand, it gives the pet some socializing with the outside world and a chance to have a little break from the cage of the shelters they stay in. They get to play with someone for a little while. I'd imagine it's something to look forward to for them. For the people renting, it may be the first step for them to get a sense of taking care of a pet and it may just be the beginning of what could end up in a more permanent situation for both the pet and the person renting. I can see this being a popular option. People may not know what it's like to have a pet in their homes. They may not know how their child will behave around a pet if they have a child. This allows them to feel more comfortable with testing out ideas. They will not feel as guilty returning the pet if there are problems that come up when taking care of the pet for a few days. It's a better option than to adopt a pet only to find that it doesn't work out. Then that pet ends up on the streets or back in a shelter and it may not be a no-kill shelter either, or it will just be put outside and neglected. All options there are very much unwanted and unfortunately all too common for such silly reasons.

On the other hand, it's like a big tease to the dog. Some dogs don't handle quick changes like this and need to have stability in their lives. Staying temporarily with a family only to be returned back to the shelter may make it harder for them to settle with a permanent family one day. Those dogs often have some house trouble with running away, nervousness, separation anxiety, and sometimes fear aggression. They need extra attention and renting cannot offer them.

So the question is how good is renting compared to fostering? Overall, fostering is better, but I do think that renting does have some really good pros for those that need the extra socialization and are otherwise stable dogs. It may be a good idea not to allow those dogs that have some instability issues to not be rentable but only be available for fostering so it's more long term for them and they can learn some trust and get a sense of a stable home. So, it's more a matter of the dogs' needs than the person's need to have a quick pet.