Miss the Pet You Left? Rent One

When I moved to Singapore, I couldn’t quite see how my cat who went outdoors at will in Albuquerque, New Mexico would adjust to apartment living in the tropics. I gave Frank away. I felt bad about that, but I think he was happier without the jetlag and quarantine. Plus, with all the traveling and my job taking up time, having a pet wouldn’t have been particularly practical. I just read about FlexPetz, a rent-a-pet company that got me thinking, though about people on the go who are missing some animal companionship. This is just musing on my part, but it seems like an interesting idea.

The company rents dog time. If you like dogs, want to spend time with dogs, but haven’t the means for a full-time dog in your life, you can get one from FlexPetz for the weekend. You can even get one for less time than that. Some people just take a dog out for a walk for a couple of hours. I wonder if you were a frequent traveler to Los Angeles or San Diego where the company is located if you could rent a dog to keep you company? The idea here is also take care of animals that need some TLC. There is membership involved. The Web site gives the details.The company also plans to set up shop in San Francisco, Manhattan, Boston, London, and Washington, D.C. Tokyo, Paris and Glasgow are some of the other possibilities in the works. Here’s the info link. Maybe this won’t work for short trips, but what if you’re going to be there on an extended project or long bursts of time for whatever reason?

A friend of mine who used to travel for business hated it because she felt lonely a lot of the time. Having a dog for company might have been just what she needed to chase away the travel blues.