EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
My wife is a dog lover. I am, by and large, a benign bystander. We have kept dogs for several decades. Recently, I have noticed this love of hers is burning a bigger hole in my pocket. The kind of services that are now available for pets is mind-boggling. I should be thankful for small mercies: my wife does not use all these services. The bustling ancillary industry takes in everything from essential commodities like pet food and specialised pet vets to high-end luxuries like pet gourmet food and pet fashion that includes lehengas and bikinis (make sure you choose the right colour) and pet spas. At its core is an attitudinal shift. Those who keep dogs are no longer mere ‘dog owners’—they like to call themselves ‘dog parents’. This is a subtle but radical change from the old ‘master and slave’ paradigm to one where dogs are seen and treated as children. It’s only then that you realise why they celebrate dog birthday parties and call in special photographers for the event.
As the Indian middle class has become more affluent and nuclear families more prevalent, the demand for pets has increased. There is no official census for dogs, but in 2019, an estimate put the total number of pet dogs in India at 20 million. By the time you take your last walk in the park with your dog in 2023, that would have crossed 31 million. These are serious numbers. It is estimated that the Pet Economy is worth Rs 7,400 crore today and is growing thrice as fast as the Indian economy at a CAGR of 19.2 per cent.
As Senior Associate Editor Sonali Acharjee delved more and more into the story, she discovered emotions to be the key driver for why people are indulging their pet dogs the way they are. And the explosion of pet care services and products is truly astonishing: pet dating apps, pet swimming pools, pet hotels, pet grooming schools, pet babysitters, pet dabba service, pet vacations and pet psychologists. Several posh neighbourhood markets have dog spas where even humble Pomeranians can be seen getting permed while Catalan Sheepdogs get coiffed, so their hair stays out of those eyes. But now, even swankier mobile pet spas wheel into tony bungalows to give their dog denizens a weekly dose of haute pampering.
The market research firm Market Decipher predicts the bewildering variety of elements that make up this whole ecosystem will reach a market size of Rs 21,000 crore by 2032. Just the pet food industry is worth a whopping Rs 4,000 crore currently and is expected to become a Rs 10,000 crore market by 2025, according to market research firm Euromonitor. This is just as well because there was a time when all pet breeds, regardless of their provenance, could be treated to the same type of food a family had: regular fare like roti, idli, bread and milk. Now, there is even gluten-free specialty dog food, more conducive to canine digestive systems.
Taking specialised care of our pets is part of our bounden duty, for what we get in return. “Dogs and cats have been shown to reduce loneliness and combat stress,” says Samriddh Dasgupta, Chief Marketing Officer of Heads Up For Tails (HUFT), India’s largest petcare company, and a ‘dog parent’ himself. That is why there was an increase in adoptions during the recent pandemic.
Of course, not all pets are dogs. As the social media age dawned on us, we were treated to the feline fetish like never before, with countless portraitures of cats caught in various philosopher-like moods, looking disconcertingly straight at you with topaz eyes or looking at some invisible theorem hanging in the air. Some argue that cats make for cold and unemotional pets. Whether you agree or not, we all know those phrases would hardly describe cat owners—they are a passionate lot, fiercely loyal to their soul companions.
Nor does it stop there. Some like to see a Ball Python from the West African grasslands curled up on their divan or wish to commune with a 24-inch Bearded Dragon from the Australian outback. Both can be had for Rs 35,000. On that reptilian trail, some will take a Corn Snake from Florida (Rs 20,000) or even a native Chameleon—a perfect Holi gift for Rs 6,000, if you will. An Iguana, which can be yours for Rs 5,000, is becoming quite a niche cult, too, even though an Iguana does not necessarily understand whether you like it or not or why. And its tail can crack your bone.
For those who like their homes filled with song and conversation, the moneyed ones can opt for a pair of Toucans with big fancy beaks at Rs 15 lakh, a Green-winged Macaw from the Andes at Rs 1.5 lakh, an African Grey Parrot (Rs 70,0000) or a budget-friendly Cockatoo from Papua New Guinea (Rs 20,000). The soft types out there want only the white cloudburst of Angora Rabbits (Rs 6,000). But these are exotica on the far frontiers of petdom. For most pet lovers out there, it only rains dogs and cats—in that order. In tune with today’s digital age, there is Ziggy Basu, the two-year-old Tibetan Shih Tzu that’s quite the rage as a canine social influencer, or Kaju, the Persian cat whose Instagram popularity can be the envy of aspiring human stars.
The relationship between the owner and the dog/cat is one of unconditional love and trust. Devanshi Desai, who runs a school for dogs in Mumbai called Wag to School, says: “If you don’t meet a dog’s needs, how can you expect them to meet yours.” Next time someone says ‘It’s a dog’s life’ or that he’s ‘in the dog house’, ask him how he could be so lucky!
(Aroon Purie)