What do you think of this story in the Boston Globe about a company offering dog rentals? Read what other locals think on the Boston.com blog.

According to the FlexPetz website, they're planning to open a location in Boston.

I had some questions, so I emailed the CEO, Marlena Cervantes. Below are my questions and her responses.

Q: Do you do any kind of background checks on potential clients? How do you ensure that they treat the dogs well? How do you verify their treatment of the dogs?

A: We acquire a great deal of personal information from our potential members and meet each potential member in person, in the presence of our certified dog trainer to ensure the member demonstrates he/she will be a responsible dog owner. We teach each member the commands that our dogs are trained to understand to maintain consistency across members and households.

Q: I noticed on your website that the dogs have GPS collars with temperature alarms- that's great! I also see that the GPS is activated when a client calls in. How do the temperature alarms work? Are they audible or do they alert you or the client? Do they need to be activated or are they always on? How frequently do you check the collars to make sure that they are working properly?

A: The devices have an ambient temperature sensor which electronically notifies us if the temperature falls outside of a predetermined threshold. We can then call the member and instruct them to check on the dog or simply sit him under the beach umbrella because he’s getting too much sun!

Q: You mention an inital meeting with a trainer. Are these trainers certified in any way (such as the APDT)?

A: There is no nationally recognized accreditation unfortunately and training methods vary tremendously across trainers and methodologies. Our trainer uses positive reinforcement training methods to increase the likelihood of desirable behaviors.

Q: What does a client do if a dog becomes ill when under their care? Are they advised of certain vets they can use or can they go to any vet? Who pays the vet bill?

A: We have established relationships with local veterinarians and all members have the information (just in case) in the event of an emergency. Our members NEVER pay veterinarian fees or related expenses, that is one of the wonderful features of our membership.

Q: Do you ever inspect client homes to ensure that they are OK for the dog? Do you ask clients to dog-proof their homes in any way?

A: If members intend to take their dogs home, we do verify the members have fenced in yards and access to a grassy area for potty breaks. We also instruct members to leave out the bowls filled with water/food, Comfy bed and chew toys (we provide). We advise members to put shoes and valuable items up high when rolling around with their Flexpetz dog!

Q: Are there behaviors that clients are prohibited from engaging in with the dogs (such as throwing a dog in the water to swim, letting a dog ride in a pickup truck bed, leaving a dog unsupervised with kids, etc.)? What does the client contract look like and what is clients' liability in case of damage to the dog?

A: Daphna Nachminovitch, Director Domestic Animal and Wildlife Rescue of PETA provided documents for us to use that includes the language below:

"No animal shelter shall place a companion animal in a foster home with a foster care provider unless the foster care provider has read and signed a statement specifying that he has never been convicted of animal cruelty, neglect, or abandonment, and the animal shelter shall update the statement as changes occur. The animal shelter shall maintain the original statement and any updates to such statement in accordance with this chapter and for at least so long as the animal shelter has an affiliation with the foster care provider."

We have our members sign a statement stating what is mentioned. Our hour long training session covers the basics of responsible dog ownership. All of our members must have a safe vehicle if transporting our dogs.

So are you satisfied by her answers? Any other questions I forgot to ask? Let us know, either at info@cambridgedog.com or by posting here.

UPDATE: The MSPCA has posted a position statement on their website, and has written a letter to Marlena Cervantes asking her not to open the planned location in Boston.