While the internet flooded with visuals of animals exploring the streets world over, the last two months have been daunting for pets, sellers and pet parents. On one hand, they were forced to keep pets indoors due to COVID-19, and on the other hand, casualties have increased due to the lack of treatment.
A case in point: Tegha Kennel in Gurugram lost 17 pets due to non-availability of fresh chicken. Founder Harshdeep Singh says, “Over 200 dogs and pups live with us at our farm. A lot of them are foreign breeds and big dogs like Kurdish Kangal, Pressa Canario, and Japanese Tosa, and meat is a huge part of their daily diet. But, we could not arrange fresh meat and chicken for them. Some became anaemic, which led to low immunity and eventual death.”
Aisha Qamar of Mummy Cat that deals in Persian, Siamese, and Himalayan cats, lost many cats as they couldn’t cope with the season change in absence of timely treatment and availability of medicine. “Now, I have just eight-nine cats,” Qamar laments.
“I had 400 fish of 20 varieties when the lockdown happened. But 25-30 percent of them died when I moved them to my home in the small aquariums I got from my shop. Some died due to overcrowding, change in water and room temperature. Others died because their breeding cycle got disturbed,” Mandeep Singh, a Faridabad-based dealer in fish, fish food, aquariums, accessories, recounts his harrowing experience since the onset of lockdown.
Business picking up slowly
Pet stores remained shuttered all through the lockdown, incurring losses. Mummy Cat’s business has decreased by 50 per cent. Shiv Kumar of Aarna Pet Store, Mayur Vihar, says, “When the lockdown was announced, our customers bought stuff in bulk, and we had sold out in five days. Now that shops are allowed to open, many supplies are not coming in as foreign brands are not reaching India. Even customer footfall is just 10 percent. Most of them are giving pets home-cooked food.”
In the lockdown laced with economic hardships, clients decreased their spending power towards aquarium maintenance. Naturally, aquarium sales nose-dived. Mandeep Singh says, “New aquarium sale was zero in the last three months. As far as the fish sale is concerned, only those people who already had a few and needed more to complete their pairs, purchased fish. I managed to sell some to the people in my circle, and now I am left with 100 fish of 10 varieties.” While Singh continues to sell fish food and accessories, he has discontinued selling fish.
Kuldeep Choudhary, a para veterinary who has been running a dog boarding in Indrapuram for eight years now, says he lost all his seven permanent clients in the lockdown. “They would drop their pets in the morning and pick them up in the evening.” Choudhary is again feeling a glimmer of hope as a few enquires started trickling in post Unlock 1.0. Similarly, Tegha Kennel is also getting requests from buyers for picking up the pets they had booked during the lockdown.
Way forward
With the number of cases in Delhi-NCR rising every day, those running pet businesses are ensuring the show must go on with all safety measures in place. Walk-ins are restricted at Harshdeep Singh’s farm with proper cleanliness and sanitisation measures put in place. “Customers are allowed to come only by appointment. We make sure they sanitise their hands before entering the premise and maintain social distancing.”Meanwhile, Qamar of Mummy Cats has resumed operations only in Delhi. “I don’t want to hurry things. We are sanitising the cattery frequently, and also checking the delivery person for any symptoms.”
Pet owners left high & dry
Kamla Nagar resident Neha Mangal’s seven-year-old Beagle had an uterus infection, but no ultrasound centre was open nearby. Sourcing the dog’s antibiotics from Mumbai was impossible. “Now that the lockdown is over, we take her to the vet daily.” Rajeshwari Thyagrajan from Noida gave her nine-year-old Spitz to her maid during the lockdown. “We are old and my husband is diabetic. We keep sending food every week and the maid keeps sending us his pictures. We are relieved because he is familiar with the maid and likes her kids.”