Pet leasing? Is there a demand for it? Is it humane?

[NNN0LHI]

Pets are a luxury. A luxury that many Americans can no longer afford. Pet leasing businesses have been operating in Japan for years now with limited success. Some of the companies were treating the dogs and cats very well, while others were not.

I can see a need for something like this though. Lot of people who like cats and dogs just can't afford the upkeep for one. Or where there live they are not allowed. Or they are at an advanced age where the pet is likely to outlive them so they are hesitant about making that long term of a commitment.

I am kind of for this as long as it was well regulated to protect the animals.

What do you guys think?

Don

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. A lease means that the relationship is not permanent,

and that the pet is just being rented, like a car. I don't like this idea at all. A pet should be treated like the sentient, feeling being it is and be given a forever home with people who love it. They should not be treated as mere possessions that can be given back when it is no longer convenient. How would that animal feel when it is suddenly abandoned by the human it loved and trusted, when the lease is up?

Would you rent a cute little baby and then return him/her when he/she got to be too expensive to take care of and not quite as cute any more? Seems to me this would be almost as bad.

[NNN0LHI]

2. I probably used the wrong terminology? Renting rather than leasing is more accurate

In Japan I believe the rentals are for an afternoon or a day? The animals are all returned to the place of business every night. That is where some of the business owners did a better or worse job of caring for them in some of the articles I have read.

Don

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. That's different --

If you just "borrow" (rent) pets for a day or an afternoon you aren't taking them away from their permanent homes; they are just visiting you. I interpreted "lease" to mean something long-term but not permanent, which would be a bad thing. A little visit could be a good thing.

[roody]

4. Those in need of a pet's love can volunteer at a local shelter.

I just got back from Pit Crew, spending an hour and a half with an incarcerated dog. We had a great time training, massaging and walking.

[NNN0LHI]

5. What about elderly home bound people?

Be kind of hard for them to volunteer at a shelter.

Don

[roody]

6. A volunteer should bring them a pet for a few hours.

[Warpy]

7. It sounds inhumane to me

because animals aren't going to adapt well to frequent changes in human companions. They're going to lose trust pretty quickly and that makes them far less suitable as companion animals.

Cats are highly territorial animals who are extremely attached to their homes. Anyone who has moved with a cat has seen the poor thing completely discombobulated for days, even with the same humans and the same furniture and all the old familiar smells. Dogs are equally attached to their humans, being pack animals who are thrown for a loop when they're expected to adapt to a new "pack" of humans.

It's just a lousy thing to do to a companion animal, all the way around.

[NNN0LHI]

8. What about the ones that are euthanized every day?

You don't think some of them could learn to adapt well to frequent changes in human companions for a few hours each day and then returned to be with the pack every night at the business establishment?

I bet some could and would enjoy their life. I have a dog who my neighbors ask to walk around town occasionally. Seems like she likes it as much as my neighbors do. She can't wait to go. I am too old to run but some of the neighbors are younger and can run her a bit. One guy is definitely her favorite. His name is Doug. And Missy(my dog), and him hit it off real well first time they met. She just loves him. Missy is a big girl but the most gentle dog I have ever seen. I know for sure she would have been up to the job, and probably have been pretty happy doing it. She loves meeting new people. I don't charge my neighbors though.

And Missy was just about euthanized. I found her dumped in the road 2 years ago December 29 and kept her. One of the best decisions I ever made was pulling over and picking her up. Here is the thread right after I found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=8371312

I think in Japan the people had to stay with the cats at the store where they lived(they had small private rooms to play and interact with them), but the dogs were allowed to go home or for a walk or to the park with the people for a few hours.

Don

[Warpy]

9. That's a little different

The animal's home is one place and they go for "adventures" elsewhere, returning home at night to the same caregivers/pack. There are similar programs taking cats and dogs to nursing homes for visits and they work because the animals know they're going home to a consistent place every time.

What would not work is placing an animal full time for a period of weeks or months and then removing it. That would be inhumane.

[NNN0LHI]

10. Here is Missy dressed up for Halloween. She weighs almost a hundred pounds now

[Warpy]

11. Yeah, and she looks thrilled.

It's quite a contrast to a cat who has been put into costume--you know the costume will be shredded within 5 minutes after the picture is taken and the cat will hide and sulk for the duration of the day.

(she is a really pretty dog)

[NNN0LHI]

14. She was tuckered out after jumping up over 50 times to meet and greet the kids & get her ears rubbed

Our two dogs were fighting to be the first one to get their costume on. Not joking. And all cats must be different too. We got one here who likes dressing up for Halloween. After Sue dresses him up he stays dressed up the entire night. Unless something falls off? But he doesn't try and take anything off. I swear. I will see if I can find a picture of him dressed up. He is my pride and joy.

Don

[XemaSab]

12. There's a place in the east bay area that's been renting out small animals for years

For small animals, I think it's a great idea.

Kid wants a guinea pig? Get the kid a guinea pig for a week.

The animal goes to another home before the kid gets bored with it. Everyone's happy.

[NNN0LHI]

13. I had no idea this had made it to the US already

Been reading about it in Japan for years.

Thank you for that information.

Don

[Withywindle]

15. It kind of bothers me. It's complicated, though.

Renting an animal out for a few hours of cuddle-time is OK in principle, but some animals are definitely more, for lack of a better term, "extroverted" than others. It's probably generally harder on cats than on dogs because cats are so very territorial.

For cats, I think the "cat cafes" they have in Japan are probably fine - you go to visit the cats on THEIR home turf. From what I've read, they typically have strict rules about not waking sleeping cats, not chasing after a cat who's trying to get away, etcetera. Cats have boundaries. They deserve to be respected.

Dogs have boundaries too, and they're so very individual that a type of play that's fine for one dog might not be for another. Does anyone REALLY want to be responsible for a dog they don't know at all? Bonding and pack relations are very important with dogs. Even dogs that are friendly to everyone while on a walk with THEIR PERSON might not be comfortable at all times when alone with someone they barely know.

I just feel like there are a lot of issues to be taken into account. An unhappy, scared dog or cat might hurt someone, or run away into traffic...I mean, you can imagine all sorts of worst-case scenarios.

I could totally support a situation where people pay to spend time with an animal on that animal's own turf, with a trained supervisor who is known to the animal standing by. (That's basically how children's horseback riding lessons work, after all, and I can't think of any domestic animal more likely to freak out and kill someone by accident than a horse!)

[undeterred]

16. I think the answer to this is pet therapy.

A companion animal is not a thing, it is a being. It needs to belong to and be cared for by someone or some group of people, preferably on a long term basis.

Pet therapy is free. Its being done in a lot of different settings.

Honestly, for people who want a pet but can't commit to one there are lots of ways to spend time with animals. Who doesn't have a neighbor whose dog could use a little more walking?