Pandemic Blues? Pets Are Going Places!
With pet adoption trending during the pandemic to ward off loneliness, a look at the boom and platforms such as Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, Dogspot.in and Jeevashram.
While many have witnessed nosedive times in the period of pandemic, the trends, showing inclination for pet adoption to ward off loneliness, has gone way up. Pets are going places! Are you planning to have one too?
Shivika Jain and her brother Atharv from Delhi have been longing to have a pet since the beginning of lockdown. The golden opportunity to have the joy of being parents to an adorably fleecy pet came when their friend sold a month old Cocker Spaniel to them for over 18,000 bucks. In no time, the duo named their furry goofball of love as Dollar and made it an inseparable part of their life that today completes their family. “Each passing day of lockdown sank us in an abyss of loneliness and boredom. For a month or two, we spend our time watching zestful funny doggo videos on social media as they give instant respite on a stressful day and some good laughs. Such amazeballs videos amplified our desire to have our pet and wade off the restlessness of that this pandemic has seeped in the air.” Undoubtedly, the sense of alienation in pandemic and months of lockdown has created a kind of void in our lives that makes us seek companionship. To break this rhapsody of melancholy, many are wrapping their heads around pet adoption. Moreover, the work from the home schedule is giving ample time to people to be able to imagine living and taking care of pets, an idea many of us have nestled in our minds but could not materialize given the business of fast-paced life. While some are lucky like Shivika and Atharv, others are constantly on the lookout for buying some winsome pets to ditch the pandemic-induced monotony of life.
Owing to the high demand of pets, the worldwide sales for pets have seen a surge in the Covid-19 pandemic. In European countries, the price of puppies has more than doubled amid lockdown with dogs costing almost £1,900 (approx. INR 1,87,000) on average as per reports. In the US, the pandemic pet boom has driven the sales of dogs, cats, and reptiles. Moreover, Americans are going gaga over interesting pet merchandise like dog food, cat furniture, charming pet size sweaters that they are considering as perfect holiday season gifts. They are willing to shell an average of $90 (approx. INR 6,600) on pet merch based gifts as per a Deloitte survey. India is also reportedly seeing a rise in pet adoption since lockdown with sales of beagle, pug, shih-tzu, toy pom, and culture pom breeds soaring up. “We have been receiving 35-40 messages and many calls enquiring for pet adoption since the lockdown started. The most in-demand pets remain the puppies,” said Ritwik Mishra, a pet expert at one of pan India pet adoption platforms. So, if you are up for pet adoption this year, then this is the right time to get those irresistibly cute little bundles of joys and be ‘pawrents’.
Here we have compiled a list of platforms and organizations you can reach out for adoption.
Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre
If you are keen on giving a home to a stray dog then Delhi-based SCACC is the right place. “The platform aims to provide sick, wounded, and abandoned animals with food, shelter, medication and organized adoption programs with a touch of kindness and safety”, said Shiva Khatri, Manager at SGACC.
Dogspot.in
Sitting in any part of India, if you feel an urge to adopt but you are clueless about what kind of pet you are looking for, then Dogspot is just a call away. This platform is active in pet adoption, care, and provides a wide array of services crucial for the lifecycle of a pet once you adopt them. “One can visit our website and select the profile of a pet and know about their name, age, temperament, gender, location, and more details”, said Ritwik.
Jeevashram
As rustic and old as it sounds, Delhi-based Jeevashram started in 1990 is another organization that can help in pet adoption and care. “From treatment, vaccination, surgeries, pet grooming, to taking care of other medical needs of pets and assisting in adoption, the organization specializes in all”, said Dr. Sunil from the organization. There are many more websites that one can reach out for online inquiries pertaining to pet adoption. So, end your hankering over those titillating pet videos, it’s time to bring some real pets home you can caress and play with!
From the January 2021 issue of FHM India.
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