i love zipcar. but i gotta say, as one who owns a dog and would LOVE to take my pumpkin to a nice park in a zipcar, i feel i'm on the losing end for OBEYING the rules while others wantonly BREAK the rules by transporting their dogs. the last car i rented, the seats were covered with dog hair. if i'd brought friends, i'd have been too embarrassed to ask them to sit on those seats. at some point, zipcar, you've got to face the fact that people want to/have to take their pets with them (especially in a town like hoboken, which is awash in dogs). it's not fair for those of us playing by the rules to have the cheaters throw this in our faces. even i didn't enjoy driving in a car so covered with dog hair. the same goes for the smoking rule; though i don't smoke, there was a note about smoke on the clipboard from the previous driver and cigarettes left in the glovebox; that must annoy smokers who are trying to play by the rules by abstaining.

even as i make a pitch for designated dog cars, i can anticipate one issue: fleas. so i suppose this is food for further thought. at the very least, the people who leave dog hair in zipcars (and believe me, they're not doing much to cover up their wrongdoing) should face more severe penalties because what's in place now apparently is not a deterrent.

thank you for listening.

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2004

Answers

Consider me another vote for pets. I would be happy to pay an additional deposit to be able to bring my cat home on the weekends-- this would also mean I could keep the car longer so I wouldn't have to rush back. More money for Zipcar!

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2004

i add my vote for a pet-friendly zipcar, but there should be some rules like covering the car seats so that there isn't lots of pet hair left behind. and it's basic common courtesy for other users.

i would definitely use zipcar more often if i could travel with my 2 dogs.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2004

I think having animals in the cars shouldn't be a problem as long as pet owners are considerate of the other Zippers and clean up after their animals. Perhaps, one idea is to designate certain cars as Animal friendly for those who do have pets and allergics could use the animal free. Would that be a good compromise.

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2004

The only reason I have a problem with animals in Zipcars is the owners don't clean up after them. Yes, there are a lot of responsible pet owners that would clean up, but the others ruin it for everyone. I certainly don't want to reserve a Zipcar and find it covered in animal fur. So, when I need to transport my cat, into the crate he goes!

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2004

Now I am all for allowing you pet owners or friends of animals, the "joy" of allowing fido or kitty a ride in a ZIPCAR...especially if you were to pay a additional fee on top of it. But what concerns me most about this is....WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE ALLERGIC OR WHO DO NOT WANT TO BE COVERED IN ANIMAL FUR?

If you have rented before, you know that the cars are not cleaned after each use and sometimes it may be weeks before this happens. So there is a greater chance that I would get fido's fur all over me. SO FOR THAT REASON I SAY NO!

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2004

I support the idea of having pet-friendly cars, and some cars that remain strictly no- pets. I have friends who are very allergic, and even if you clean the car after the pet has been in it, you can be leaving behind hair that an allergic person will know about for sure! But if there were a few cars in each fleet that you designate as for pets, then allergic people can avoid them, but others can bring pets as you please.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2004