Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Pandemic brings 5-star luxury to furry friends
ONE of the positives of the Covid-induced precipitous drop in business for five-star hotels was allowing pets – a no-no previously – into their rooms.
That was one way they could get “pet parents” who opted for staycations not to miss out on “paw time”.
Seeing the obvious benefits of making this concession, the hotels that rolled out the red carpet for pets have continued with the practice.
One of them is a New Delhi landmark, Ambassador New Delhi, and it was here that a host of pet parents gathered with their furry friends for a “pet summit”.
An “informal” pet show, which saw 25 different breeds of dogs, from Rottweilers to beagles, walking the ramp and frolicking with each other, came at the end of a B2B conclave of companies in the business of providing for the myriad needs of pets.
“After two years of on-and-off lockdowns, it is a great experience to move out with pets and let them play in the open,” Niharika Sachdeva, a businesswoman, said, sharing the relief that pet parents are experiencing seeing their favourites moving out of their cloistered confines. Sachdeva had come to the pet show with Ace, her Labrador aged one and a half.
Speaking for many pet parents like her, Sachdeva said: “Such an event for dogs is happening after a very long time. It is good because we get to know about new products and for the dogs, it's a change of routine and they get to see so many other dogs and make friends.” She added that she interacted with a vet and a dog instructor, and
gained knowledge about keeping pets in a proper way.
For Pooja Nigam, a jewellery store owner, who came with her 20-monthold beagle, Muffin, it was good to know that she could go on a vacation without agonising about where to keep her pet. “The most important issue faced by pet parents is to travel with their pets and stay with them," Nigam said. “I think pet-friendly hotels solve this problem to a great extent.”
Sheetal Singh, general manager at Ambassador New Delhi, said she could empathise with pet parents as she herself was one for quite a long time (until she lost her pet recently).
“Our staff is trained to handle different breeds,” Singh said. She added that during the last two waves of Covid-19, more and more people were turning to pets for emotional sustenance.
The pandemic brought to light the challenge of pets losing their “parents” to Covid-19, or being separated from them as a result of all kinds of travel restrictions. Life for strays became more difficult than ever, for people could not step out of their homes in those lockdown days to feed them.