[In case you’re wondering what happened to the Almost Debt Free series on Tuesdays, I’m taking a break from the column to focus on getting back to full-time employment again. In the meantime, here is a twist on the pets and money debate.]

Puppy!I’m a dog lover. If you were to see me walking down the street, you’d think I’m a serious guy who is always in a rush. But show me a cute dog, and I stop in my tracks to gush and coo at it as if it were a baby. Unfortunately, my apartment building forbids dogs; Zac is a cat person; and who knows when I’ll ever have the time to have a dog again. I’d often joke to Zac, Gosh, I wish you could just rent a dog on a beautiful day.

Be careful what you wish for. Now you can rent a dog in California, just don’t call it that. The founder of FlexPetz prefers that you call it “shared pet ownership.”

The idea is rather shocking, but I think relying on a pet sharing service is more humane than owning a dog and neglecting the poor thing. If anything offends me about this company, it’s the fortune they charge.

According to the Associated Press article, “For an annual fee of $99.95, a monthly payment of $49.95 and a per-visit charge of $39.95 a day, (discounted to $24.95 Sunday through Thursday), animal lovers who enroll in FlexPetz get to spend time with a four-legged companion from Cervantes’ 10-dog crew of Afghan hounds, Labrador retrievers and Boston terriers.

“The membership costs cover the expense of training and boarding the dogs, home or office delivery, collar-sized global positioning devices, veterinary bills and liability insurance. It also pays for the ‘care kits’ — comprised of leashes, bowls, beds and pre-measured food — that accompany each dog on its visits.”

It’s important for the dogs to get proper care. But crunching the numbers shows that you’re likely paying more for convenience than operating costs for pet care.

Let’s say you want to enroll in this service for a year. At the end of the year, you will have spent $699.35 in monthly fees in addition to the annual fee. Now to make this $699.35 worthwhile, you decide to “share the dog” twice a month. And keeping frugality in mind, you choose one discounted day a month, and one peak day a month. (12 x $24.95) + (12 x $39.95) = $778.80.

Monthly and annual fees + 24 per-visit charges = $1,478.15 at the end of the year. Yikes! That falls in the high range of $800 – $1600 ASPCA cost estimates for the first year of dog ownership, as Paula pointed out.

This just goes to show you that owning a dog would be a better value, unless you don’t have the time or space. But really, why even think of a dog in terms of value? Dogs deserve love and attention, and they’re like a member of the family. You can’t rent a baby or a kid for a day. What makes people think renting a dog is any less strange?