This company would train pets to be docile and sweet. People could come and try owning an animal on a limited basis. Basically, I see two applications. The first, and less used, would be for people considering getting a pet to do a "test-run" to see how they like it. The more common use would be a daily or hourly rental used to walk a pet through a park as a guise to meeting members of the opposite sex. Caveat: not to be used in conjunction with sheep prostitution.-- ofersh, Jul 31 2000 Companion Dispenser http://www.halfbake...mpanion_20dispenser [eagle, Jul 31 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] Goin' Dot Com - the musical (SF, Summer 2005) http://www.goindotcom.com/plot.htmThe plot of this musical chronicles the rise and fall of a fictitious puppy rental startup. [jutta, Jan 18 2006] Follow the Companion Dispenser link to a large rant-filled set of annotations to a similar idea. Most of the "You bastard!" rants were mine.
I've since become much more civilized.
Just one new exagerated emotion filled rant:
<rant>As a band (whose name I can't remember) once wrote: "We'll make great pets!"
Imagine human beings encountering an advanced alien civilization that gathers up us humans, domesticates us, and them makes us into pets. After a while we'd become quite happy. They'd meet our basic needs: finding a mate, preparing a steak, giving us a decent toilet, etc. Not a bad deal, really -- considering how stupid we are compared to our new masters. Slaves? Yes -- but well cared for ones. We're kinda like retarded children who need taking care of.
But then our new masters hire us out to make a quick buck. No longer do we get taken care of by masters who love us -- but by strangers who feed us only because their contract says they have to. No love, no long-term parent/child type relationship.
Poor little human puppy!</rant>
Thank you.-- eagle, Aug 01 2000 Sounds a bit like my good old RENT-A-CAT idea. Ideal for people who have mice in their (old) house. Without a cat is nearly impossible to get rid of them. But where to rent a cat that is trained to catch mice?
ReindeR-- rrr, Aug 01 2000 The band is Perry Farrell's misguided Pornos for Pyros.-- ofersh, Aug 01 2000 Fully baked. They already have dog rental in Japan. It must be true, I saw it on TV.-- brouhaha, Aug 02 2000 Japan has had this for years.-- djang363, Feb 01 2003 HIRE-A-HAMSTER-- benfrost, Jan 19 2006 random, halfbakery