Mark and Jen Pendergrass didn’t particularly want a dog. Both had dogs growing up and were acutely aware of the work and responsibility that entailed. Now the couple had full-time jobs and two kids, ages 11 and 13, in school.
The kids had other ideas. Nora and her older brother, Griffin, poured their plight into the receptive ears of their Hinesburg neighbors across the road. Jim and Vicky Gelber, who are in their seventies, were retired with disposable time. So they were more than sympathetic: They wanted a piece of the pooch.
And that is how Maple, a 35-pound German shepherd-dachshund mix, became the beloved pet of two households.
While Maple’s arrangement may not pass the sniff test for everyone, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think. Dog sharing — or perhaps co-pooching? Polywoofery? — appears to be a growing trend. A company called CoPuppy helps people in cities around the world, including more than 30 in America, share their pets or find pets to share. The practice has lit up online forums, including a post a few months ago on the r/Burlington sub-Reddit written by a couple looking to share their 7-year-old black Lab mix, Millie. The post garnered more than 130 responses, ranging from curiosity to one commenter who called it “truly fucked up.”
Call it what you will, but given the rising costs of pet ownership (see “Care of the Dog,” page 32), the concept could have legs — four of ’em — given its practical advantages. Think of dog sharing as akin to coparenting following a divorce, minus the avarice and lawyers. The two parties split the responsibility and costs to maintain the dog’s health and share canine time 50-50.
That’s the theory, and it’s what the Gelbers and Pendergrasses were counting on. It greatly helped, Mark explained, that they were already very friendly and often socialized together. “Since my parents and Jenny’s parents live out of state, the Gelbers are like surrogate grandparents,” he told Seven Days.
The Gelbers wanted to travel; the Pendergrasses are working stiffs. Mark is a middle school science teacher, and Jen works in the medical field. If both couples were working, their schedules wouldn’t have aligned. The 200-foot walk between their homes across a dirt road was another plus.
So last summer, the search for the two-fur was on. They tried a number of Vermont animal shelters until their quest ended at the North Country Animal League in Morristown. A litter of four had just arrived from Alabama, the pups in an almost comical range of sizes, small to big, like matryoshka dolls designed for nesting. Shelter staff approved the plan to coparent a puppy.
With all members of the families present except Jim, they picked the second smallest and christened her Maple for no particular reason — though Jen was born in Canada, and the dog’s coloring in a certain light could be called dark amber. Mark related that he grew up with big dogs, as did his wife, so Maple — who most resembles a footrest with ears — requires lowered expectations. “I call her my quarter-dog, because she’s half the size of our half-dog,” Mark said with a chuckle.
Initially, Jen fretted about scheduling and making sure Maple’s stays were equally shared. “I didn’t know quite how the schedule would go and how that would look, and I didn’t know if we were gonna sort of write something up formally,” she explained. She noted that Jim is a lawyer, so “we were ready to sign whatever he suggested.” That proved unnecessary, she said: “I’m just really grateful for how smooth everything feels.”
Both families admitted to surprise at the speed with which Maple settled in at her two homes, commuting between them with little hesitation. “She doesn’t pull away from one house to go back to the other, or vice versa,” Jen said. “She’s just very comfortable and, I think, recognizes both as her homes.”
In addition to splitting all expenses evenly, including medical bills, the families trained Maple together. One adult from each household, plus Nora, accompanied the dog to a six-week training class. Maple’s sole instance of rebellion occurred when the Pendergrass kids went to pick her up at the Gelbers. They found her staring intently at the window of the oven. “I had put a chicken in to roast, and she wouldn’t budge,” Vicky said.
Otherwise, Maple has adjusted, despite some inconsistent rules between households. At the Gelbers, she is not allowed on the couches but is welcomed on their bed. At her other home, the couch is available at all times, but Mark and Jen’s bed is verboten.
Until his retirement a few months ago, Dr. Dan Hament of the Richmond Animal Hospital had Maple as his patient. He’s had no experience with dog sharing but did take part in a heated custody battle with his ex-wife over an 11-year-old German wirehaired pointer named Belle. The case won notoriety for reaching Vermont’s Supreme Court. In 2014, Hament was granted custody because Belle was accustomed to strolling to the veterinary office in the morning and spending the day there.
“If you start the dog young enough, it can be a little more adaptable,” Hament said of dog sharing. “The only real pitfall is if there’s any discontent between the two parties as to how much time they have with the dog.”
Plus, “the dog could get a little confused as to why it’s going from one place to the other,” the vet added. “Both parties have to be looking out for the dog’s interest, but it can work.”
Maple seems to agree. During her mornings at the Gelbers, she greets Vicky, checks out her food bowl and then jumps into bed with Jim, who likes to sleep late. At day’s end, Maple perks up when either Nora or Griffin comes to get her and trots jauntily back to the Pendergrass house. She seems to thrive on variety.
“Maple has a pretty good life,” Vicky said. “About the only thing that might make it even better is if we all got a second dog.” ➆
The original print version of this article was headlined “A Tail of Two Sitters | Want a dog but not all the responsibility? Try dog sharing.”
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