Who cares about pedigreed canines when there are children dying of hunger in the world? If you’re not air-dropping those children nutritional love, you might as well keep mum about those doing their bit for animals. When 26-year-old Rashee Kuchroo, with an MA in Marketing & Communications, wanted to start her pet food company Dobbie Dabbas, people dismissed her desire as a vague hobby, and a love for her pet that’s taking over her sanity. Four years and a steady list of clients later, she’s proved them wrong. “When I returned from England after completing my education, my L abrador had thinned down. I decided to switch him over to home-cooked food. A lot of research later, I realised how dogs are intrinsically wired like humans and respond positively to wholesome, home-cooked food,” she says.
Before she knew it, other ‘pet parents’ told her the same thing. If you’re thinking lentil-and-wheat dog food, you’ve got to imagine more tastefully. She dishes out peanut butter and carrot cakes, doughnuts and thin-crust pizzas for her furry friends to feast on. Does the city treat its animals right? Yes and no, she says. While domesticated breeds are being tended to, the mongrels that run astray on streets are in need of spaying and neutering.
“There’s a lack of civic awareness on the issue. A lot of parents impose their fear of dogs on their children. Growing up with pets is healthy, they’re part of the eco-system we’re born into,” she says. Her tip to her fellow citizens: “Whenever you spot a dog with ears that haven’t been clipped, call an animal rights NGO and urge them to come down and do it. This will reduce incidents of dog bites, along with the growling and the fighting.”
Her 12-member team includes six delivery boys and four chefs, including her. They cater to clients in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. She has five dogs: Zorro (pekingese, 15 years), Sloppy (Labrador, 6), Boss (St. Bernard, 3), Doobie (Lhasa Pek Mix, 3) and Bro (Shih Tzu, 1), and they live the proverbial ‘dog’s life’.