I _think_ this is sufficiently different from the Loaner Dog idea that has already been posted.
Lots of people would be responsible dog owners but feel they can't get a dog because they don't have a yard, work long hours, live alone, etc. Meanwhile, lots of great dogs languish away in animal shelters.
Why not a service to link up people who are compatible to provide a home for the dog in shifts? I.e. night-workers/day-workers. Or people who want a dog during week/on weekends. Like a time-share beach cottage.
People would have to commit for a set period of time, e.g. two years, so as to not cause too much disruption in the dog's life. Most dogs I know would be psyched to spend half their week in the country and half in the city, or similar arrangement, as long as the owners really acted like owners. Owners would agree to share a vet and costs of routine vet care, but would otherwise pay food and vet bills as they came up.
This makes it quite different from the Japanese rent-a-dog model, which is a short-term, hourly thing featuring bored, untrained dogs and customers just looking for a quick doggie fix. From what I hear. Not that (ahem) I have every paid for canine companionship, of course.
It would require a database that optimized for both the dog's best interest and geographical closeness of owners. Maybe you could factor the dog's preferences in, too. (Like the medical residency match system.) You would also need someone to mediate disputes, arrange swaps when people's jobs change or they move away from the area, etc. This would be the designated Regional DogShare Captain.-- magrak, Jun 09 2002 Loaner Dog http://www.halfbake...m/idea/Loaner_20DogDogs for hire [magrak, Jun 09 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004] Well, it's definitely different than "loaner dog" whereby you get a dog for a short period of time while yours is "busy" somewhere else (at least that's how I read it). Kind of like being given a car to drive while yours is in the shop.
So, while it is a different type of idea, I'm still not too excited about it. I have dogs and, while I don't mind sharing them with anyone that comes to visit, I would go nuts if they were out of my direct care. I think most dog lovers would agree. I also wonder, "what happens to the dog at the end of the agreement period?"
I'm also pretty sure that, through the "magic" of divorce, there are dogs that live the kind of life you describe.
Overall, it seems that if someone really wants a dog, they should either make the 15 year committment or become friends with someone who has dogs and help take care of those dogs.-- runforrestrun, Jun 10 2002 Having a dog once in a while might be nice. Sometimes you're just in the mood for a slobbery slave. Most of the time, I'm not, though.-- StarChaser, Jun 10 2002 A friend of mine has a 'neighborhood' dog, Zeus. He is actually owned by one of the folks on my friend's street, but Zeus visits everyone there, gets fed and often stays overnight in different homes. He's frequently at my friend's place when I've been over.-- waugsqueke, Jun 10 2002 Ahh - a dog that thinks its a cat?-- mcscotland, Jun 10 2002 A colleague of mine works at a "dog rescue" volunteer center here in Northern California. Her service actually boards the animals with the center's volunteers, while they're waiting for appropriate adoptive homes. The animals only get caged, if they do, when in transport from volunteers' homes to the adoption center or weekend events.
I think this is a great idea, especially considering the abuse that many of the center's animals suffered before their "rescue". It's not DogShare, but it's the best half-baked similar idea I've found.
Croissant, magwak: maybe a pastry-shaped chew toy? Woof! <wagging tail>-- 1percent, Jun 10 2002 Thanks ... Have you ever seen the wagging tail emoticon? \ / \ / \ / (courtesy of the Labrador retriever list).
I came up with this because my neighbor can't have a dog but loves them, so she has started coming by to take mine to the park and also takes her to work some days. It is a nice break for me and the dog really seems to have fun. Meanwhile I have a friend who really wants a dog but lives alone and works nights, and I can't help but think there must be someone in her neighborhood with a complementary situation.-- magrak, Jun 10 2002 random, halfbakery