Casey said he tries hard to screen out anyone who might take animals for dishonorable reasons, but he cannot always be sure someone is not just taking a puppy for a day or two in order to pick up women in the park. "I've turned away people who say they want a snake for a few days so they can freak out their roommates," he said. "Or one woman asked me for a bird temporarily because she felt her cat was bored and needed something to swat at."
Most of the people who come to him simply want to have a pet for whom they will not have to completely rearrange their lives. He said 85 percent of his clients are single.
Singles have started exploring the Art Farm in the City's creatures as well. Van Hise said that one adult recently looked into renting a pet because her boyfriend wants a dog but she doesn't feel comfortable with animals. "She was thinking about getting a part-time chinchilla," Van Hise said, "so that she can learn to have animals around her."
Parents like the Wassermans can avail themselves of part-time pets to put their children's promises of care and upkeep to the test.
Van Hise, who was inspired to start offering part-time pets earlier this year after hearing too many children beg their parents to take animals from the petting zoo home, knows parents don't want the bother of pets, and for that reason the Art Farm staff does all the caretaking. They do let part-time pet owners help with chores when they visit.
Of course as soon as these unsavory tasks are not compulsory, they become alluring. "We think, `Who would want to clean a cage?"' Van Hise said. "But the kids want to change the water and clean. They like taking care of the animals."
Six children have taken a part-time animal at the Art Farm since the animals started being rented four months ago; another six families are considering enrolling in the program in the fall.
So far the children have not lost interest and continue to visit about twice a week.
If anything, they get too attached. "Some kids don't like to see other kids playing with their animal," Van Hise said. "So we explain that it lives here, and other kids can play with it. Your name is on the cage, so it's yours, but you have to share."
Occasionally, when Van Hise feels especially comfortable with the part-time pet owners, she'll let them take the animal home for a short stay. Jared and his sister, Alison, who live on the Upper East Side, were allowed to bring Rudy home, at no extra charge.
After struggling to get the cage into a cab and getting home, lots of pictures were taken of Jared, in pajamas, cuddling Rudy on the kitchen floor. He brought the pictures to school for show and tell, and gave one to his teacher as a gift. Then two days later Rudy returned to Van Hise.
"I just kept thinking how they're part of the rodent family," Marla Wasserman said. "When I brought him back, Valentina said, `You're welcome to keep him longer,' but I said `No, it's time for him to come back here now."'
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