Bark'N'Borrow: A Dog-Sharing Service

(Photo: Bark'N'Borrow)

I've been saying for about 20 years that there's certain to be a market for a dog rental service. After all, dogs are awesome, but not everyone is in a position to get a dog. Do you like spending time with dogs? Would you be willing to pay for it?

And that's where the kibble starts pouring in.

That hasn't happened yet, but we're getting close. Bark'N'Borrow is a new app-based business that lets people spend time with dogs by borrowing them. Maya Kosoff of Business Insider signed up and wrote about her experience.

After exchanging a set of messages and emails with his owner, I met up with Charles in a park near my apartment. I was a little nervous — I wasn't really sure what to expect at a dog meet-up. Charles, his owner, and I went for a walk together and it was surprisingly fun. But don't feel like you're limited to meeting up with a dog and its owner — once you establish a level of comfort and trust with a dog owner, you can actually borrow their dog for an overnight or for a few hours. It's up to the two of you. It might not be a service for everyone, but it's essentially the sharing economy ... for dogs. If you can't have a dog yourself for whatever reason and want to feel like you do, Bark'N'Borrow is probably the most convenient way to do it.

-via Marginal Revolution