Boarding pets for parents who have tested positive
The present pandemic that has claimed over 33 lakh people globally has not just affected people. It has affected stray animals and even pets whose parents have tested positive. A video where a stray dog was eating cow dung had gone viral last year. Animal lovers were shocked as they watched it. So much so that hundreds of people in Delhi-NCR took to the streets despite the lockdown and faced police brunt to feed these animals including cats and even cows.
Cut to April 2021. The second wave hit the country and entire families started testing positive leaving their pets with nowhere to go. In stepped good samaritans who besides helping the people with oxygen cylinders and getting beds in hospitals started fostering pets while the parents were in hospital or quarantined at home.
For Nikhil Chawla and his wife, Neha Grover, boarding pets began last year when they started feeding strays because they had no food to eat. “Last year, things were better and people were particular and careful; they stayed indoors but this year, in April, things came to a head. I have a friend in West Delhi who also likes to lend a helping hand. We decided to foster pets and it all started with four dogs,” Chawla says who fosters pets at his home.
He has hired a few people including a driver whose task is to pick up the pet from wherever the need arises. “Also, it is not possible for me to walk 20-30 dogs. I have people who help me out. The demand has been such that I am now looking for a farm house and convert it into a resort where I can house these animals. People call me to foster their pet since they can’t take care of it. Then there are pets whose owners have passed away and their family is not willing to keep the pet. We bring such pets home and try to find new homes for them. It is extremely painful to watch these pets since they keep expecting their parent to show up. At present, I have a couple of pets that are up for adoption,” Chawla tells you.
To begin with, he was charging `400 per day to foster pets but then things changed in April this year and at present, he is fostering these pets for free. This is because he is already feeding the strays and opines feeding a few more mouths is not going to hurt him. However, his friend charges ` 200 day because she is renting a place to house the pets such has been the demand.
“As it is I spend around `2,000 per day to feed the strays, why not pets as well. I have been feeding animals out of my pocket since last year and will continue to do so as long as it is possible. When it gets out of my hand, maybe I will think of reaching out to people. Things are however, improving and from 25-30 dogs, the number has fallen to six to seven. People are getting better and they take their pet. I am happy; the whole purpose of this initiative is to help people and their pets,” Chawla says.
When he gets a call, either he goes or sends his driver to pick up the pet. A bath is given to pet to ensure that he is not carrying any infection before he is allowed to mix with other pets. Once the owner gets better, the pet is given a bath again and sent back.
Achal Gupta of Jeffurys: The Pet Resort who runs a luxury pet care resort — from pet boarding to pet park to a pet pool to a pet spa and store — tells you that at present only pet boarding is operating due to the lockdown protocol.
“We started this resort, spread over an acres with 50 individual rooms with an AC for the pet, four years back in Mundka, West Delhi. Fostering pets of COVID-19 patients was not a service that we started specifically. Our motto is to help people. When the first call to help foster a pet for a family came last year and it has continued. While the influx of dogs coming in from COVID positive families in the last six months was nil, in the last six weeks, we have been flooded with COVID positive family dogs,” Gupta says.
There have been instance in the last few weeks where people were roaming with their pet in the car looking for a bed for themselves since they couldn’t leave the pet alone at home and weren’t sure when they would be back home. We have actually picked up pets from outside hospitals while the owners waited for a bed. These last few weeks has been life-changing experience. There have been cases where the dog is locked at home and we have had to request the local SHO to break into the house to get the pet because he has been inside for more than two days,” Gupta recalls. He gets calls from Delhi-NCR that includes Noida, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh and even Sonepat.
There have been cases where Gupta has had to leave from the resort immediately to pick up the pet and coordinating with the owner over the mobile because the parent has taken a turn for the worse and had to leave to the hospital. This is unlike the normal boarding where the pet parents come in, look at the premises and book for 10-15 days because they are gong for a vacation. Now, they get a call at 6 am or 11 pm to pick up the pet while he is on his way to the house to pick up the pet. One is told that few people realise pet needs. “The care that it needs hits you once you are unable to take car of it and this includes walking the pet three-four times a day; giving him food, grooming it and ensuring his vaccines are taken care of. COVID-19 is a disease that things change within a few hours and we get frantic call to up the pet. Things were dark. We have had four pets where some one in his family has died. There is this family; a young man and his mother. She tested positive so the dog came to us. His mother passed away; the grandparents tested positive and they too passed away. The young man is now left alone with just his pet,” Gupta recounts. He tells you that they charge a regular tariff but at present, they are giving a discount since each dog that is coming to them is there for at least two weeks. The discount varies from 15 per cent to 30 per cent.
Just like Chawla has a protocol. Gupta too follows the guidelines. The first is that they send a form that has to be filled up and sent to us. We need to know something about the dog. But this is not always possible. The team gets in touch with the pet’s vet to get an update. This is ensure the inoculation status. Second, they don’t enter any premises. Somebody has to drop the pet at the gate or outside the apartment. Third, they only take the collar and leash. Fourth, once the pet reaches the resort, he is given a bath; the leash and collar washed as well. Fifth, a WhatsApp group is created where the parent can see videos of their pet and even talk to them via video calling.
Happy Petting’s owner Vipul Agrahari, a business entrepreneur who owns an IT solution firm, tells you that he started this venture more than 10 years back because of his love for dogs. “It all started with three dogs and there was talk to keep the fourth. My dogs’ vet told me why don’t I start a resort for the pets and Happy Petting was born,” Agrahari recalls.
“This year, we started boarding for pets and are getting bombared for the same. The situation has been terrible. Almost everyone in our contact list has been a COVID suspect. It started with a labrador, Sweetu; his entire family tested positive — grandparents, husband, wife and their three-old baby. This boarding continued for a month. This led to him boarding 30-35 COVID family pets. But this number stood at 50 since many pet parents didn’t want to outright say that they had tested positive for fear that their pet may not be boarded,” Agrahari says.
As is with Gupta, Agrahari also sends his car to pick up with the pet.The car is then sanitised. The leash, collar and the dog is given a bath. It remains out of the house.
“We provide everything that the pet needs, bowl, leash and collar. It then comes inside my home. My house can accommodate up to 30 pets. But there have been instances where it has been more because one pet has come in and the other is to leave in a couple of days. It also helps me to keep track on whether I can take on more pet boarders. We charge `500 to `1,200 depending on the breed, its needs, medical history, age and physical fitness,” Agrahari says.
