A paradise for your pooch

Extended weekends mean holidays and holidays are always an exciting proposition, unless of course you are a pet-parent. In the latter case, there are a million things to take care of before you pack your bags and lock the doors — ranging from where to leave your pets to making sure your pooch has a comfortable time alone. But while not everyone has a pet-loving neighbour and Kennels are notorious for a number of things, especially ticks and diseases, these aren’t the only options. A number of new and exciting services ranging from pet-creches and daycares to even pet-sitters (who take care of your pets in its own comfort zone of your home) are making sure that you have a guilt free time away and your pet has as much fun as you do during your time apart. We bring you some of the popular options the city has to offer for your pets and the stories behind them.

Perfect Pooches by Sanam Karunakar When Sanam Karunakar lost function of her legs in an accident, her pet lab Magic, a dog specially trained by renowned pet-behaviourist Shirin Merchant, was her biggest source of strength. And although Magic is no more with Sanam, she now has over 20 dogs at any time in her house that she treats just like her own, thanks to her pet care service Perfect Pooches. “We met Shirin because of Magic and she was the one who suggested the idea of starting a pet care service to me. Initially I was a little apprehensive because I’m wheelchair bound. But it’s been 13 years now and our house is almost always filled with dogs,” says Sanam.

“The primary difference about our service is that we have never leashed a dog. Me and my husband are both trained canine behaviourists, but still we only take in dogs after we test their friendliness using our own dog,” she adds. One of the first such service to come on the scene, Sanam’s Perfect Pooches is also one of the most popular. She adds, “Of late we have been refusing a number of requests because our house has already been full for the past couple of weeks.” Sanam’s service based out of Powai. Contact: 096999 33104

Mad Over Dogs by Vanessa Noronha Like every innovative idea, the story behind the conception of Mad Over Dogs too comes from personal travails says Vanessa, who founded Mad Over Dogs a few years back. “I have my own dog and this idea came up when I myself was looking for a good place to leave my dog in when I was going out of town.Right from the time it was a puppy, we never put it on a leash or confined it to a particular space. So for me, local kennels were a complete no-no. I realised that there were a lot many people in the city like me who didn’t want to leave their pets in a kennel but didn’t have any other option. So that’s how the idea for Mad Over Dogs came about — from the idea that you can leave your pet at a place where you can be sure that it will be safe and comfortable.” A trained pet-behaviourist herself, Vanessa tells us a little more about how her service works and says, “There are a few criterions the pets and pet-owners have to fulfil before we take the pet in. One is that the dog shouldn’t be aggressive and the other is that it should be sociable — at least a little bit. At any point, all the dogs we have share the same amount of space and facilities — including our own.” Vanessa is based in Bandra (W). Contact: 98206 43681

Pet-sitter — Malaika Fernandes Unlike kennels or day care centres for pets, Malaika’s service is very similar to that of a baby-sitter, but for pets. The idea behind her service, says Malaika, is to take care of pets in their very comfort zone. “Not every dog is social and no dog likes to be leashed or caged up,” says Malaika, who adds that just like with humans, each dog needs individual care sometimes. It comes with its own set of challenges, she argues. “While I took up this career out of my passion for pets, being a pet sitter needs much more than being just a pet-lover,” she adds. Telling us how her service works, Malaika says, “I only take clients that come referred from my previous clients and all marketing is through word of mouth. We don’t take responsibility for the house, but as far as the pets are concerned, everything is completely taken care of.” Some of the positives of her service, says Malaika is “Oftentimes you see temperamental or behaviour changes in your pets when you get back from a holiday. But at its own home, not only is it safe, it is also just the way you left it.” Malaika also does destination pet-sitting where she travels with pet owners to take care of pets when they are busy. Malaika’s service Princely Paws can be contacted at: 09820854669