ZipDog
My old college roommate, Kevin, sent me a link today about a story of a woman who has started a pet rental service called Flex Petz. While in school Kevin and I, fond users of the ZipCar service, often joked about the idea of creating a company around the same model but with dogs–ZipDog (aptly named for the assumed buyout offer from ZipCar that was surely to come).
The idea was simple; not many people want to own a dog or can’t due to building rules, but do like to play with them. We envisioned package deals with ZipCar for weekend getaways to the beach where you not only rented the car but also a friendly companion to throw the frisbee around with. Most people balked at the idea, citing many reasons as far as people renting dogs simply to abuse them. All issues aside, it certainly was a missed business opportunity.
Word is Flex Petz is expanding to New York City in the fall. This will surely be interesting to see how it pans out. Although I know a fair amount of New Yorkers who would gladly lend their pet for a day or two, especially during the week days.
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