'Dog Parker' Curbside Kennels Let Owners Park Their Pooches While Running Errands

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- There was controversy Tuesday, over a new convenience for dog owners.

It's a crate, created by a woman who had an idea, and hit the ground running.

As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, the curbside kennel is designed to let you temporarily park your pooch and run a quick errand.

The membership based program costs $25 to sign up, and 20 cents a minute to use.

The kennels come in three sizes, are temperature controlled, and are regularly cleaned per city guidelines.

"We follow all the same sanitation guidelines as doggy daycares," Dog Parker founder, Chelsea Brownridge said.

And if a problem should arise.

"We can remotely take houses offline and deploy someone to take care of it," Brownridge explained.

The design might seem restrictive, but Brownridge said it was created after consulting with veterinarians.

"Because dogs are den animals, and the bigger the window you have, the more on display they are, and the more anxious they feel," she said.

One of the kennels is located in front of a Fort Greene cafe. The owner said customer reactions are mixed.

"Everything from 'it's great' to 'seriously?' And, 'do you have one for children?'" Keith Goldberg said.

One concern from dog owners was the maximum allowed length of time.

"Our time limit is also three hours, but in reality it's meant for shorter trips," Brownridge said.

"I worry that some people might abuse it and leave their dog in there for a couple hours while they go to happy hour," Amy Christensen said.

Dogs left longer than the limit are taken to a boarding facility and the owner is charged an extra fee.

The Humane Society's guidelines for keeping a dog in a crate require enough space for the dog to stand up and turn around.

Puppies under 6 months can be left for up to three or four hours, older dogs can stay inside for a few hours more.

"Grab the leash and he comes right back out and you're on your way," Brownridge said.

Dog Parker is in the pilot program phase right now, but the founder hopes to have them available to the public in the spring of 2016.