South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Florida lawmakers look to outlaw pet leasing practice
Seven states have passed laws banning rent-to-own plans
Floridians eager to add a furry friend to their lives are unwittingly renting their pets, agreeing to contracts that allow their dog to be repossessed if they fall behind in their payments.
Animal advocates and state legislators want to outlaw the practice known as pet leasing. Pet owners are paying more than double what their dog is worth and then face a hefty charge at the end of the lease if they want to own their dog outright.
Consumers — enamored with their dream pet — often are duped into signing the contracts and only later discover that they don’t own the dog or cat they thought they had purchased on a payment plan, said Jennifer Hobgood, senior director of state legislation for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Southeast region.
“It preys on people’s emotions,” she said. “It takes advantage of a legal loophole that needs to be closed forever in Florida.”
The practice is relatively new. The leases have been offered in pet shops selling high-end breeds, such as French bulldogs, Maltese and toy poodles, Hobgood said.
A cascade of media reports from across the country and a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission have highlighted disgruntled customers who say they never wanted to lease their pet like they would a car.
Sandra, a Miami resident, said she signed a lease agreement last year for a pug that was valued at
“It preys on people’s emotions. It takes advantage of a legal loophole that needs to be closed forever in Florida.” — Jennifer Hobgood, senior director of state legislation for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Southeast region
$1,800. The agreement has her on the hook for more than $3,000. She declined to give her last name because she said she’s embarrassed that she agreed to the lease.
She said she has tried to work out a settlement with the leasing company, but it has refused to budge. She acknowledged she made a shortsighted “emotional purchase,” but she didn’t realize until later that she was leasing instead of financing her pet.
“I am trapped,” she said. “I am even worried the puppy could be repossessed. At one point, I was like ‘should I pay this or my utilities?’”
Miami-Dade County banned pet leasing in June, but the ban doesn’t apply to leases that were signed before it took effect. Miami-Dade’s ban also doesn’t apply to other counties, and animal advocates say they aren’t aware of any other local rules that prohibit pet leasing in Florida.
A complaint that a Hollywood pet owner filed in November 2018 with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services tells a similar story. The woman purchased a Maltipoo puppy that had a sticker price of $2,538. But a copy of her contract showed she agreed to $5,838 in lease payments, more than double what the dog was worth. The contract required a final payment of $380 if she wanted to purchase her dog at the end of the lease.
If she defaulted, her Maltipoo puppy named Diamond could be repossessed. The leasing company could “take possession of the pet by any method or manner permitted by law,” according to the contract.
Kelsey Eberly, a staff attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said she hasn’t seen a case of a pet being repossessed, but it is included as a possibility in the typical lease.
“That threat is always over their head because of
the nature of financial instrument they signed,” she said. “That’s terrifying. Pets are being treated like cars or some other inanimate property.”
State Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, and state Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, have sponsored bills to ban pet leases. A similar bill was filed earlier this year, but it didn’t get a hearing in the Legislature.
Hobgood said she thinks
the bill will have a better chance when the Legislature convenes for its next session on Jan. 14 as more attention is put on the practice of pet leasing.
Wags Lending, one of the leading pet leasing companies, did not respond to a request for comment about the Florida bill. Monterey Financial Services, which collects lease payments from Wags Lending, also did not return messages.
Another leading pet leasing company, My Pet Funding, is “no longer actively operating,” according to its website.
A Wags Lending contract obtained by the Sun Sentinel does specify that customers are leasing their pets. The contract states, “You are leasing the pet and have no ownership rights in the pet unless you exercise the purchase option.”
But Taddeo said consumers are often subjected to deceptive sales tactics and are signing contracts on iPads while distracted with a puppy.
“When we go to buy a pet, the last thing we think is this could be a lease that we are signing,” Taddeo said. “It’s heartbreaking for people who just wanted an additional member of their family.”
Seven states have passed laws banning pet leasing, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.