Sharing a Dog Makes Sense--So Does Renting One

Dog sharing was a topic on the front page of yesterday's WSJ. This topic hit me because my mother and my neice have been sharing a dachshund named Pablo for several months now.

Val said it works out very well. They split time in the week about half and half, and when one of them is out of town, the other takes over, removing the expensive need for boarding or dog sitters. Like two divorced parents, my mother always wants more time with her beloved pooch,
but she doesn't grouse.

The Hotel Fairmont's house pooch, Santol, in Quebec City.

My dad compared this arrangement to being a grandparent: you get the fun time to enjoy the pet but you get time off too. He said he thinks this is better than just owning the dog.
There is actually a company called Flexpetz that was launched last year in New York, San Diego and LA. Members pay a $100 monthly fee and pay $45 per day to rent dogs to take home. But critics piled on, and in Boston the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the renting of dogs. So for now, the parent company, Asensia, said they were shelving their new idea. Now they'll will let their members adopt their formerly rented dogs.

At some hotels, dogs are available to rent as well. At the Ritz Carlton, in Beaver Creek CO, one yellow lab named Bachelor is booked for dates with guests up to a month in advance. In the Fairmont Hotel in Quebec City, a big black dog named Santol greets guests at the front entrance. Guests can send him emails, and hotel staffers write back 'from the dog's perspective.'