It’s woof-ficial! Heavy petting pays

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Mahima Singh with her pet

Pets in the city are spoilt for choice. They have penthouses, walkers, grooming spas, food, accessories and even couture! Pet boarding facilities and grooming parlours are sprouting in the NCR due to hectic lifestyles. Youngsters who are immensely passionate about animals and are bored of conventional career choices are providing an array of services for the pets.

“About two years back, I got a two-months-old injured pup home. I adopted it and it became the first dog of mine. I soon discovered that most of the dog boarding facilities here are those with timid kennels, where I won’t keep my dogs anyway. I embarked upon the idea of a home-based facility for dogs, wherein the dogs may feel at home,” says Mahima Singh, who runs a pet boarding facility, Woof Roof along with her fiance Kandarp Relhan from her place in Noida. With not more than four dogs at a time, the place intends to provide individual attention. “I also plan to set up a state-of-the-art dog resort in India, which would be the first of its kind here,” adds Mahima.
Sonya Kochhar began Canine Elite, a professional kennel for dogs and cats in Mehrauli. “A lot of people are now spending time with their pets just like one does with their kids. They even like celebrating their birthdays. I try and give them various options,” says Sonya. Canine Elite offers penthouses, organises pool parties and fashion shows for the pets.
Sahil Chaudhary, a young teenager is one of the professional dog-walkers with Alpha 11, a dog training and boarding centre in Gurgaon. “I love playing with dogs and find them extremely friendly. This was just the perfect way to earn extra pocket money. We get `2,000 to `3000 per dog,” he says. His day starts early at 5.30 am, when he has to walk a German Shephard and a Labrador.
Husband-wife duo Sanjeev and Preeti Kumar decided to start something novel a few years back. “My wife and I were immensely passionate about pets. The moment the idea of a pet grooming parlour came to us, we dropped our careers and got on with doing something we have always enjoyed doing the most, simultaneously making a living out of it as well,” says Sanjeev.
At the moment, they have a chain of grooming parlours across the country, Scoopy Scrub, a pet food and accessories chain, Pet Bytes and have launched the first full fledged pet bakery in India.