This is the weirdest thing...

Equinox

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#2
I actually want to swing by to take a look, but only because I can't believe this is actually a thing.

I think "WHYYY?!???" covers it pretty well, actually. I love what the local humane societies do with their "rent-a-pup" fundraiser, where they bring dogs to college campuses and students pay by 10 - 30 minute increments to play and walk with the dogs... but an actual business where dogs are leased for extended periods of time just doesn't sound like a good idea.

I had a terrible case of new dog fever for the longest time. I signed up to volunteer at the humane society and walked neighbors' dogs. You know, that sort of ingenious, hard to come by solution.
 

JessLough

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#3
Coming from a brief look, to me, it doesn't sound like it's a "rent a puppy" type thing. It's basically a pet store that's giving you a trial and allowing you to easily return the pet if it doesn't work out -- instead of selling it online and such.

Iunno, from who I read it, doesn't seem like a bad idea. I sure as hell hope people were able to have a trial period for a ferret before buying it from the pet store, it would cut the numbers in rescue down quite a bit.
 

Sit Stay

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#6
Very odd. Not sure what to think. I did enjoy the picture of Hannah and her farm collie/English Shepherd type pup though - nice dog!
 

Aleron

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#7
I read through it, it's not really like a lease in that it's not intended as a way for someone to have a temporary pet. It's an interesting idea, I don't really see anything wrong with it and can certainly see where there is a market in the pet owning public for this sort of program. It's like having a dog on an all inclusive plan - you pay them for the dog and they bring you food, cover vet bills, etc. They also offer an option to buy the dog off of them if you no longer want to participate in the program. It isn't something I would do but like I said, I can see where there could be a market for this.
 

Laurelin

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#8
I think it's incredibly creepy and shady. I also wonder where they are getting all their dogs. They all seem to be purebred and designer breed puppies.

This part of the FAQ:

"So, if I decide to sell my Pet to Hannah and become the Pet Parent, what is the process? I am concerned that I will not be able to afford all of the costs to care for my Pet now and in the future and don’t want to face having to give him up.
Maybe. First, Hannah has to examine the Pet to make sure it is behaviorally and medically eligible to be a Hannah Pet, so you would need to do a little paperwork to get things moving. Then Hannah would arrange for the evaluations with a behavior expert and one of our veterinarians– we would also need you to tell us as much as you can about your Pet’s behavior and medical history.
If Hannah determines that your Pet is eligible to become a Hannah Pet and you want to move forward, you will then have to legally sell it to Hannah (for a price both you and Hannah agree to) and go through the matching process (which includes paying a Matching Fee). If you are not a good match for your former Pet, Hannah’s Lifetime Matching Program will identify that fact and you won’t be matched to it (provided you are honest on the computerized tool). If the Pet is not found to be a good match for you, you will be matched with one that is – and you can accept that Pet and your former Pet will also be matched with a different Hannah Pet Parent. If you choose to have “approval rights” as part of the sale agreement with Hannah for your former Pet, you can disapprove of Hannah’s match for a new Hannah Pet Parent and have the option to repurchase your Pet for what Hannah paid you for it; the Matching Fee is not refundable if we are able to find you a good match. If you are matched with your former Pet, you have the choice of “re-homing” it in your home with any problems we find addressed, or trying another Pet – whichever you choose. Under either scenario, you can have Hannah take any Hannah Pet back and match you with a different Pet at any time in the future – regardless of where the Pet came from."
And this one:

37.
Where did this specific puppy/dog come from?
Hannah Pets come from not-for-profit animal welfare organizations and families. Many times we simply don’t know where the pet originally came from because the shelter does not know. In the case of an individual, the Pet may be the result of an accidental mating, a stray, a rescue, a hardship situation, or any number of other situations that we have previously discussed. We have made it a policy not to release the source of any particular Pet or Pet demographic statistics because we often don’t know the initial source and because of privacy laws that prevent us from finding out. It doesn’t really matter anyway because what we can tell you is, the Pet has passed the health and behavior testing and we will take care of the Pet for his or her entire life – and the Pet Parent’s only financial responsibility is the monthly Pet Support Fee, which we believe is less than half of what you would otherwise pay.
How convenient.
 

Aleron

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#9
It says they get them from shelters, rescues and private people rehoming dogs. They also mention they hope to work out a deal to place service dog washouts. One could easily find plenty of dogs in my area to take and rehome in this manner. Especially with popular breeds and mixes.
 

CatStina

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#10
“They’re my new religion, that’s what I tell people,” Skeen, 44, says.


Ummm... Renting dogs is your new religion...?
 

Laurelin

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#11
It says they get them from shelters, rescues and private people rehoming dogs. They also mention they hope to work out a deal to place service dog washouts. One could easily find plenty of dogs in my area to take and rehome in this manner. Especially with popular breeds and mixes.
3 month toy and designer dog puppies? Almost every dog on their site is some sort of desirable breed puppy.
 

CatStina

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#12
What sent her running, Shenteal says, was what happened when she asked whether she would still be bound to the contract if a Chihuahua died.

“You can mail the carcass back to us, and then you can get out of the contract,” Shenteal recalls staff telling her.
 

Airn

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#13
It's certainly something different. I think the concept is unique and possibly a great idea. I can see where the execution could make it a horrible idea. I think it could be a great idea for families. Instead of getting a lab mix puppy for you children for Christmas, only to find out it's an ill-suited match, you get to test run the dog to make sure you can handle it. If they do just take dogs from shelters/rescues/similar organizations then that's also another plus. Besides the legal jargon, what are the concerns? Is it the way this company has it set up or is the idea in general?


A concern I have would be the happiness of the dogs. Some breeds/dogs never really make good impressions. I would hope the dog wouldn't be a 'loaner' forever. Or people may not want to work with a dog because they don't have to try. If Gwen was in a situation like this, I doubt she would find a home for a while. Her anxiety issues cost quite a bit of time and money. I didn't read through all FAQs but I'm hoping the 'owners' would have some kind of screening as well as the dog. Make sure they know how to take care of the dog (general dog info), mandatory training sessions, etc. The guy does seem a bit creepy, though. (And I get that he wants to honor his mom, but reading the article and the dogs constantly being referred to as "Hannah Pet's" is annoying.)
 

Aleron

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#14
3 month toy and designer dog puppies? Almost every dog on their site is some sort of desirable breed puppy.
There's a rescue here like that, they buy puppies from dog auctions. Controversial for sure but it is what it is. There's quite a few breed specific rescues that do that as well around here. I wouldn't be surprised if Hannah isn't getting puppies from breeders too though. Still, it's a bit of an improvement on the typical pet store selling puppies in that they stay involved in the puppy's life and take them back if they don't work out.
 

Flyinsbt

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#15
Given the guy who started it, this is intended as a profit making venture. He wouldn't be involved otherwise. And I'm really skeptical about the claims of getting the dogs from shelters, so the thing seems pretty shady.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#17
The inability to dictate medical treatments is scary.

The guy sounds like most master businessmen I've known, ruthless and smart with an ample amount of shady and selfish thrown in.

I'll have to check this out for intrigue sake.
 

milos_mommy

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#18
I think it could be a really good idea (it honestly doesn't sound all that much different than foster-to-adopt) for me: but this specific business/organization/whatever seems super sketchy.

I don't think it's weird that they have a lot of small breed puppies. There are tons of them in rescue around here. People breed them all the time thinking they'll sell fast because they're cute, can't sell them because everyone's breeding them, can't handle raising six 7 week old pups, and dump the entire little of shipoo chicav morkie whatevers at the shelter.

Plus, there are puppy mill busts all the time, and they're selling mostly toy breeds and toy mixes - the bigger no kill shelters here often get trucks of 20-50 pomeranian/chihuahua/papillons/shih tzus/small terriers from down south. Like probably 2 or 3x a year it happens.
 

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