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This kind of business, when not tied to an ethically operated shelter, has a lot of abusive potential, of course.
This does feel a bit weird - short-term rental of petting animals? I'm worried about mishandling, animal cruelty and the whole concept - pets form an attachment with you, doing it as a short-term rental isn't an acceptable way of building a relationship...
HAI
CAN HAZ UBERDEPLOY?
VISIBLE "O HAI! WILL U HAZ UBERKITTY?"
LOL VAR R USERSEZ
IM IN YR LOOP
GIMMEH USERSEZ
IZ USERSEZ LIEK "KITTENS!"?
YARLY
VISIBLE "KITTYZ IN YR LAP!"
UBERDEPLOY
KTHX
NOWAI
VISIBLE "CAN U HAZ KITTYZ?"
KTHX
KTHX
I know it's fun, but I honestly think they're testing the waters with this sort of thing - same goes with the "Call an Ice Cream Truck" campaign from this summer. Uber = On-Demand... anything?
BTW I presume Uber implemented this in LOLCODE? HAI CAN HAZ UBERDEPLOY? VISIBLE "O HAI! WILL U HAZ UBERKITTY?" LOL VAR R USERSEZ IM IN YR LOOP GIMMEH USERSEZ IZ USERSEZ LIEK "KITTENS!"? YARLY VISIBLE "KITTYZ IN YR LAP!" UBERDEPLOY KTHX NOWAI VISIBLE "CAN U HAZ KITTYZ?" KTHX KTHX KTHXBYE
What does this have to do with HN?
This does feel a bit weird - short-term rental of petting animals? I'm worried about mishandling, animal cruelty and the whole concept - pets form an attachment with you, doing it as a short-term rental isn't an acceptable way of building a relationship...
Though, normally it's free, and the animals aren't delivered by a taxi service.
This does feel a bit weird - short-term rental of petting animals? I'm worried about mishandling, animal cruelty and the whole concept - pets form an attachment with you, doing it as a short-term rental isn't an acceptable way of building a relationship...
One of the big things they stressed, at least for the dogs, was how important it was to play with the them. Expose them to people, scratch their ears through the grate on their kennel, pay attention to them, etc. etc.
The reasoning being that dogs who are used to humans, and are affectionate towards them, are more likely to get adopted.
If this was for dogs, it would be a HUGE benefit to them. Getting them out around people is almost always a good thing for them.
Raise demand for young cats, surely it will not impact more young cats being produced (and killed when they get older). Want a pet? Get and keep one.
This is a reputable company offering the service, not some sketchy back-of-the-alley vendor. It could be a wonderful service for people that cannot keep pets in their rental apartments for instance, or people that live with someone allergic to cat fur preventing them from owning a cat, or plain and simple people with really busy lives that wished they could own a pet but know they'd be unable to care for it properly.
Personally I've wanted countless times to keep a cat for the long-term, it simply wasn't possible because I knew I'd end up neglecting it, especially considering that kittens require so much attention.
What's the harm in this? Instead of sitting in a shelter all day long, the animals are socialized well, they get to experience varied new environments and maybe even end up being adopted by the customer.
Have you considered that this could also be great for old, retired and lonely persons, like someone's grandma that lives all by herself and barely gets any visitors?