I offer you this open letter to the lawmakers of Massachusetts now that this state has been recently targeted by the pet rental service FlexPetz. FlexPetz is a now-national chain providing pet rental services to those who would enjoy a pet but are unable or unwilling to make a firm commitment to one.
I’ve written about this issue before, which is why I was approached by a Massachusetts reader with the intelligence of the company’s plans to enter their state later this year. One State Rep there has already penned a bill designed to prohibit pet rentals. My letter below supports its passage.
Esteemed members of the Massachusetts State Legislature:
Recent economic developments within the companion animal industry have led to the proliferation of new products and services for pets and their owners. While most of these are welcome changes to a culture shifting its values increasingly in favor of pets as family members, some have surfaced merely to exploit the popularity of pets in our society.
In this case, I call your attention to the emerging commercial practice of renting or leasing pets with the intent of profiting from their temporary or episodic placement in homes, as introduced by the company FlexPetz in California.
Those of us who care for companion animals in a veterinary setting, as I do in Florida, have determined this practice to be fraught with numerous pitfalls for the animals involved. Moreover, it is the general view among many veterinarians and pet welfare advocates that such a practice encourages the communal perception of pets as disposable property.
It is my position that the establishment of such commercial enterprises sets a precedent for animal use, one which threatens to degrade the laudable (and increasingly effective) work of those increasing adoption rates of pets in shelters nationwide and in Massachusetts in particular. Ultimately, a culture sensitized to the disposability of pets is one destined to suffer strain on its public and private resources through increased pet abandonment.
I urge you to evaluate “An Act Prohibiting the Renting of Pets” (H.D. 4864) proposed by Massachusetts State Representative Paul Frost with these cautions in mind. Passing such an act would send a message not only to companies who would exploit our pets in novel ways, it would also serve as a model for our entire country as to how responsible stewardship for pets is best achieved—by rejecting practices which would undermine their stable role in society.
Thank you for your attention to this worthy matter.
Patty Khuly, VMD MBA
Dolittler.com
P.S. Feel free to write your own versions and forward them to Email Rep. Angelo Scaccia who chairs the House Committee on Rules: Rep.AngeloScaccia@Hou.State.MA.US
Ask that "An Act Prohibiting the Renting of Pets" (H.D. 4864) be moved without delay into the appropriate committee.
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I read this and then your previous post on the topic (including the comments), and I guess I feel like the odd one out. I don't think FlexPetz is necessarily a bad idea. In fact, it sounds very much like shelter adoption programs where you're allowed to try a dog out before adopting.
Either the website didn't have as much information back when you wrote your first post or people didn't read through it. The FAQ actually contradicts some of what was said in your previous post:
http://www.flexpetz.com/faq.html
Of note: all of the dogs are rescues or from owners that were going to drop their dogs off at shelters. When not with clients, the dogs are with caregivers' families in their own homes. If a client decides they want to adopt a dog from the company, they can do so. If a dog can no longer be a FlexPet dog, they are found a permanent home.
Granted, it's certainly possible that they're making things up for the website, but it would seem like bad business to do so. And it does seem kind of silly that people would pay for this sort of service when it is available at some shelters. That said, I don't think it's a bad idea in and of itself--if these dogs are able to live comfortable lives in homes with many people instead of in cages/kennels in shelters, that seems like a pretty good deal. But that's just my opinion on it.
Janine March 2nd, 2008 11:17:00 AM
Thanks for the model letter - that's a great way to get others to write their own. As I live in MA, I did so, and my model letter can be found below if anyone else wants to copy it too.
http://zandperl.livejournal.com/460903.html
zandperl March 2nd, 2008 12:07:00 PM
Janine: I'm more inclined to agree with the mechanics of such a business than I am to endorse the concept--and the concept's end result, which is to say I can't believe the commercial systematization of what is essentially already available through municpal shelters to be a good thing. Anyone can go to the shelter and adopt a dog and return it the next day...or the next week. Essentially being granted the opportunity to fail in your ownership responsibilities through "rental" send a terrible message to society at large about what our culture expects from pet caregivers.
FlexPetz has also changed their tune (outwardly, anyhow), on what kind of pets will be made available, etc. At the outset we were talking pretty purebreeds (still pictured on their site), not shelter pets. Regardless, I have a hard time believing anything this company might propose in terms of how it might foster loving relationships--there's too much unethical going on in its its back-story, to boot.
Dr. Patty Khuly March 2nd, 2008 12:07:00 PM
One problem I see is that if the dogs are truly well-socialized enough to handle the FlexPetz "lifestyle," they're perfect candidates for permanent adoption. In a state like MA there are plenty of willing adopters. The dogs I saw at the Animal Rescue League that ended up euthanized would be unsuitable for living in a home in any circumstance.
Liza March 2nd, 2008 12:11:00 PM
When you want a pet, taking care of it yourself IS THE OWNING PART. I'm sorry, but if all I did was rent a pet just to take for a walk, then I don't deserve a pet. If I want to do that, I'll volunteer at the animal shelter again. I walked dogs there all day long. I got to play with them too, without feeding them myself. They smelled bad, so then they got a bath. If one got picked up without a name; I could even name it.
If you really want a pet just to play with then give back for another week; just go play with a dog or cat at an animal shelter. At least they need your care and aren't cared for already.
As Dr.K said, it is essentially dog pimping.
ashleigh March 2nd, 2008 01:43:00 PM
My understanding is that the Flexpetz founder has a rather dodgy history, business-ethics-wise.
I agree that pet dog-renting is a bad idea from an animal welfare and community well-being point of view. (When the clueless renter lets puts the rented dog into a bad spot, and the dog bites someone or injures another animal, who is liable?)
I wasn't able to find the MA bill online. It would need to be carefully written in order not to interfere with such long-established activities as hourly horse-rental by livery stables and riding instructors, riding horse leasing, the leasing of breeding stock of various species, (including pricey show dogs), and the rental of security dogs by businesses, governments, and individuals.
I have, on occasion, "loaned a dog" to a friend or neighbor. Once when a neighbor suffered a home invasion and assault, I allowed them to "borrow" my most beloved and valued dog for overnights, just so they could feel safer. (The perp was already arrested, so there was no continued threat, just a family freakout.) There are very few dogs who are up to handling the kind of emotional strain of such sleepovers, but my girl was, and I watched her very carefully for stress or disorientation. They eventually got a nice dog of their own -- who was useless as a watchdog, but a wonderful companion.
So I agree that commercializing this kind of transaction is a Bad Idea, capital B, capital I. But crafting legislation that adequately defines it and doesn't interfere with normal husbandry practices of many kinds of animals will be tricky; caution, research, and extensive input from animal owners is called for.
H Houlahan March 2nd, 2008 01:58:00 PM
An Act Prohibiting the Renting of Pets (HD 4864) applies only to dogs and cats--not horses or other animals. It was very carefully written and reviewed by the MSPCA. And it sends an important message: Dogs and cats are living, thinking, feeling beings, not "things" to be enjoyed and return on whim.
Flexpetz bears no resemblance to shelter programs whose aim is to find the animal a forever home, not turn him into a profit center. Flexpetz is about greed; shelters are about rescue.
And sadly, animals who otherwise would have been adopted, whether they're shelter dogs or purebreds from breeders (and shame on them for selling their animals to a rental business), are rarely suitable pets after their environments, care and bonds have been broken time after time. And then what? No matter where they came from, it's off to a shelter they go, to live the rest of their lives in cages...or be euthanized.
Voice your support for HD 4864. (It's not online yet because it hasn't gone to committee; that's why it's important to email Rep. Scaccia.)
People who genuinely love animals don't reduce them to the status of a rental car or DVD.
Ruby March 2nd, 2008 07:31:00 PM
The cutie on the Flexpetz website, Marlena Cervantes, is the company's frontwoman; she is an employee of FlexPetz Holdings, whose president of FlexPetz is Simon Brodie. Brodie is best known as founder of Allerca, the company that sells what it claims are "hypoallergenic" cats. Geneticists are highly doubtful, according to the Boston Globe (7/31/07). The article goes on to say:
"Many former associates have raised doubts about the company, given the past of its founder, Simon Brodie, who has a history of failed ventures, a criminal conviction, and fraud allegations...'(Simon Brodie) is an extremely accomplished con man,' Wood said in a phone interview from England. "He's obviously very good at what we call smoke and mirrors."
Now, do you really believe all the sweet-talk on the FlexPetz website? If so, can I sell you a hypoallergenic cat?
Colleen March 2nd, 2008 07:45:00 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only person who found this whole flexpet thing disturbing, I can't imagine old dogs, or dogs who get ill will be allowed to retire to happy forever homes. If expensive care is needed will the dog be cared for at all or be 'laid off' to a shelter or what?
How will the prospective 'renters' be background checked? There are sick people out there I wouldn't trust with a pet rock, how are the dogs protected from mistreatment?
The foster home analogy is apt, and it's no fun at all for the children who go through it, having an animal trying to adjust to serial homes, rule changes, different demands and commands and then abandonment? It's horrid, shelters always need volunteers if people want the companionship without a full time companion in their home.
sb March 3rd, 2008 12:25:00 AM
Thanks for the letters as starting points. I too live in MA and do not want this company branching out here.....
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