Pet rental is the practice, usually administered by for-profit companies established for this specific purpose, of renting pets such as dog and cats. Rental also includes animals who are let or hired out at a specific rate, for a specific time. It is a controversial practice opposed by many animal rights advocates and has been banned in at least one municipality: Boston, Massachusetts.
Video Pet rental
Methods of Pet Rental
Therapy Dogs
There are several methods of renting a therapy dog as a part of the Mayo Clinic's Caring Canines program The dogs that participate in this method of pet renting make regular visits to various hospital departments and can make special visits upon request The dogs that participate in this program have been welcomed by the patients and are considered a good distraction from the atmosphere of the hospital.
Renting an Animal for an Event
Another method of pet rental includes renting animals for an event. Animal Craze, a traveling farm, specializes in renting animals for either birthday parties or events of any kind. Their services usually range from $200 to $500 depending on the amount of animals and what kinds of animals a person chooses to rent. Mobile Zoos are also a form of pet renting for an event. Mobile Zoos' are popular in the United Kingdom. They provide exotic animals for children's parties. Another form of pet renting includes puppy parties. Puppy parties usually include 5-10 puppies that are placed in a playpen for people to come and either cuddle, handle, or play with. If the people at the party are younger in age, they are instructed on how to properly handle the puppies. The puppies at these parties are usually between 2-6 months old. Companies such as Puppy Parties have influenced the media to add a cute and therapeutic aspect to school, corporate, and private events. Their puppies have also been seen on the hit ABC show Good Morning America.
Renting Pets as a Test
Another method of pet renting that is common is to test whether or not a person is ready to take on the responsibilities of being an owner . That also includes pet renting for the various reasons listed below:
- Not being able to have animals in their house due to rental agreements.
- Not being able to have animals in the house due to allergies.
- Not being able to properly take care of an animal due to excessive traveling or work.
Maps Pet rental
Accessibility
Cat Cafés
The first known cat café was located in Taipei, Taiwan, named Cat Flower Garden. Opening in 1998, it became a place for stressed out visitors to come drink coffee and pet cats. Cat cafés increased in popularity in Japan because most renters were not allowed to own pets. In 2005, Shop of Cats in Tokyo and others like it became a place for single income families to enjoy the comfort of the pets that they couldn't own. In April 2014, New York took on the cat café idea, which took off immediately. Sponsored by Purina One, it let families meet adoptable cats. Additionally, two pop-up cat cafés in California, located in Bay area and Oakland, opened in 2014.The San Francisco location, KitTea, was open to both rescued and feral cats.The Oakland location, Cat Town, was designated to cats that were ready to be placed in a home. In Europe, cat cafés took off in Paris, Berlin, London, and more.
Dog Cafés
Dog Cafés are popular in Korea and the United States. One café in Santa Monica, named Grounds and Hounds, sponsors shelter dogs that are up for adoption. Customers can pet and love on these puppies in a designated area of the café for as long as they want. Mainly, in Korea especially, dogs in the café are from puppy mills and are not up for adoption. That practice, however, is changing quickly. Dogs in cafés like Grounds and Hounds are adoptable shelter dogs, some suffering from physical illnesses. In these cafés, strict health codes are enforced, requiring animals and food to be separated. For the animals to stay overnight, the café was built in an industrial zone - a requirement given by the L.A. Health Department.
Animal Cafés in Tokyo
In Tokyo, there are pet cafés with rabbits, birds, goldfish, reptiles, goats, and penguins. These cafés are the most popular for those with strict renting policies in Japan, and for tourists. To protect the well-being of the animals, some cafés have specific time limits. Other rules include that food must be separate from the animals, there must be trained handler assistance with some animals, and, with penguins and reptiles, visitors are there to watch them, not to touch them. Visitors may pay extra for pictures with the animals. Some famous pet cafés in Tokyo include:
- Mrs. Bunny
- Falconer's Café
- Kingyo Café
- Yokohama Subtropical Café
- Penguin Bar Ikebukuro
Importance
One method of pet renting is animal assisted therapy. Animal assisted therapy can help to reduce pain, anxiety, depression and fatigue in people with a range of health issues including: children having dental procedures, people receiving cancer treatment, people in long-term care facilities, people hospitalized with chronic heart failure and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD. Other benefits from programs that use pet renting include not only the people who are sick, but it also includes the loved ones of the ill patients too. Patient's family can also receive benefits due to the happiness that an animal can bring to their loved or also to themselves.
Ethics
Concerns
In the United Kingdom, the use of Mobile Zoos are cause for concern. Because of this, Mobile Zoos will soon require licenses to operate in England. The RSPCA recently announced that the Mobile Zoos' were handling the meerkats and raccoons inappropriately. Under the changes to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, anyone who wishes to own a business of providing an animal for an exhibit must require a license from local authority, including Mobile Zoos. The exhibits must also adhere to welfare standards developed with those working in the sector and animal welfare charities Some of the biggest concerns that hospitals face is the safety and sanitation that comes with the therapy dogs that visit. Most hospitals with dog therapy programs have a strict policy to ensure that animals are clean, vaccinated, well trained and are screened for appropriate behavior.
Animals in the Media
Across the country, there are over 40 animal talent agencies. Everyday, agents audition talented animals for parts in film, theater, photo shoots, and television commercials. Each animal talent agency represents hundreds of clients which include animals in wildlife preserves, pets, and even domestic and exotic species. Though, the need for animal actors is declining due to modern digital animation, for commercials, the typical rate in New York is $800 a day for a dog.
Abuse in the Media
In the movie Snakes on a Plane, reptile wrangler, Jules Sylvester had brought over 27 types of snakes on the movie set. In this production, Jules explained how the snakes get tired after an hour of work, and can become over stressed, causing a snake not to eat for a week. It is for this reason that particular snakes are leased for an hour at a time.
Animal Safety
Due to animal killing scenes in movies such as Call of the Wild (1937) the AADL or American Animal Defense League started taking measures to protect hired animal animal actors from abuse. Investigations involved popular Hollywood studios such as Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox on abuse in films as well as abusive living conditions. More recently, the American Humane Association's (AHA) Film and Television Unit have taken the initiative to make sure animal actors were not harmed in the making of the movie. The AHA began monitoring the safety of animals after Jesse James provoked an outcry when a horse was forced to leap to its death from the top of a cliff in 1939. The AHA prides itself on ensuring safety for all animal actors.
Highest Paid Animal Actors
The animals people gaze upon on the internet, in advertisements, are prized for their "cuteness." This was seen in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, as Toto or "Terry the Terrier" made over $125 a week, compared to the Munchkins, who made $50.
Other famous animal actors include...
- Rin Tin Tin (1954) -- $6,000 per week
- Pal the Collie (1959) -- $4,000 per week
- Keiko the Killer Whale -- 35 million in career earnings
- Moose the Jack Russell Terrier -- $10,000 per episode
- Crystal the Capuchin Monkey -- $12,000 per episode
- Bart the Alaskan Brown Bear (1980-1990) -- 6 million in career earnings
- Benji (1974-2000) -- 200 million in career earnings
See also
- Cat café
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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