Dog Rental Finds Its Ideal World

Flexpetz, the company that rents out dogs to those people who are too busy to get a dog, has opened up an outlet in the virtual world Second Life, for those people who are too busy to get a life.

Not long after its launch the dog rental company began threatening to move out of the US to the UK, (London, Glasgow) and, like a new perfume, to Paris, Tokyo and Sydney. Flexpetz has at last taken its first step towards international domination of the dog rental sector - by targetting the avatars of an online world where pets are virtual and dogs can fly in the sky.. like pies.

When the rumour crossed the Atlantic last summer that Flexpetz was expanding to London there were cries of protest from the UK animal welfare world. The Animal Rights group Animal Aid described the idea as animal abuse, saying:

"Dogs are sentient creatures who form bonds with their guardians."

It seems that now, not even the Guardian of the Rented Pet is sentient, (some may question whether he ever was), just a Platonic reflection of a shadowy figure bound to a flat screen in his bedroom. Somewhere in the world there is a place for dog rental. How clever of Flexpetz to find that place in Second Life.