5 Indian pet care brands that are redefining how you pamper your pooch – VOGUE India

Aki and Gremlin had an eventful 2021. The two indie rescues from Bengaluru’s Second Chance Adoption Centre went on road trips to Goa, Wayanad and Coonoor. As the pandemic recedes, their local outings have grown more frequent—their parents Sandhya Surendran, a media and entertainment lawyer, and Sanjeev T, a music producer and guitarist, are inseparable from their pooches and take them everywhere. “We would have gone nuts if it wasn’t for them. They kept us sane through the second lockdown,” says Surendran, who adopted the dogs, one for herself and one for her husband, in August 2020. The lockdown has spurred a boom in pet adoption and acquisition the world over, with pets offering healing and hope to humans grappling with uncertainty, stress and grief.

For 10-year-old Dayani Bhattacharya, whose family relocated from Delhi to Goa in January 2021, the adoption of two slender indie siblings, Tokyo and Saké, has been pivotal in helping her adjust to her new environment. “For us, the move to a quieter life in Goa seemed logical, but for Dayani it meant leaving all the familiar and the many friends she’s made behind,” says her mother, the PR professional Srimoyi Bhattacharya of Peepul Consulting.

To make the transition smoother, Dayani was promised another puppy—the family is already in possession of a fiesty three-year-old poodle called Momo. “We really wanted her to associate 2021 with something happy—not the lockdown, having COVID-19, or the weight of adapting to a new life,” says Bhattacharya. Dayani’s wish was twice answered as her parents rescued not one but two indies. “We’re now six to a bed, three humans and three dogs. We feel so complete,” adds Bhattacharya.

In a pandemic rife with stories of loss and loneliness, pet owners provided some respite through cheerful social media narratives centred on the antics of their pooches and cats. The first thing TVC producer and new pet mum Divya Jagwani asks us to do is check out @Yoshi_thegoodestgirl on Instagram. A series of reels gives us a sense of the sprightly black Labrador. “Between my husband and me, I was the reluctant pet owner, but Yoshi transformed the vibe of the house completely. She cuts the tension. We’ve held on to happiness at a really weird time in everyone’s lives,” says Jagwani. In her brief time on the planet, Yoshi has been on two Goan holidays and has a pretty packed social calendar as her parents take her to coffee shops, bars and pet-friendly co-working spaces. Adds Surendran, mum to Aki and Gremlin, “It’s like living with two other people. Sometimes I spend hours just watching them be comical, argue or sleep. Nothing can make you feel as good in a shitty situation.”

The Pet Set

Five Indian women-run businesses that are leading the luxury pet care industry.

For holistic treats

A Petter Life by Anjali Kalachand and Sachin Shetty