Dog Sharing? Could it work?

[Catherine]

You are right, a lot of dogs would not handle a life like this.  I think some would love to be shared. Having two families would really make them happy.

I like the idea of an older person on their own sharing a dog with a younger family. The dog could stay with the older person during the day while the younger family goes to school or work. At night the dog could join the younger family and  enjoy a livelier time there. People who are very old hesitate to have a pet. They are afraid they will die and leave the pet with no one to care for them. The younger family would commit to taking the pet full time  if the older person dies.
It could work. Most 90 year olds would not risk taking on a dog, but if they have had pets all their lives they probably miss having a pet. It is something people should think about.

Some dogs are so outgoing they would probably be fine with 3 or 4 families. Some cats already visit a number of families and eat with each one. They have already invented their own version of pet share. Of course being cats they decide who they visit and when.