From fashion to hostels, India's pet industry is pulling out all the stops

Indians spent Rs 19.8 billion on pet care last year, according to Euromonitor International

At the edge of Delhi, nestled in the hushed silence of tony Chattarpur farms is a paradise for pets. A place where dogs shed stress, not hair. They become friendlier and happier as they spend their days running about on the green grass, eating a meal of organically-grown vegetables mixed with tender-fleshed chicken sourced from a supplier to airline kitchens — and, most important, attending counselling sessions.

 Right now, a three-year-old stray, Pooch, is undergoing an intense one-on-one therapy to improve his behavioural skills — no snapping at strangers. For the past two months, he has been a pampered guest at the farm, sleeping in sound-proof rooms, getting relaxing massages and exercising on the treadmill. Pooch has to get his social skills right before he relocates to Dublin in March, when his human family flies out of the country.

 If you think Pooch’s “parents” — that’s what pet owners today like to call themselves — are being excessive, hang in there. There’s a whole new exotic, and expensive, world that has come up around present-day pets. It is a world of luxurious pet boarding facilities that aim to match the services and amenities of five-star hotels. It includes “cat spas” for kitties to enjoy some me-time and cat nap, swathed in French clay wrap. And it offers high teas for the “pet child”, where he or she can bond with other canines over gourmet tarts and biscuits.

The market appears ripe for such indulgences. According to Euromonitor International, Indians spent Rs 19.8 billion on pet care last year. The market research provider projects that the number would grow 12.5 per cent annually through 2022. Many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this growing market that is fuelled by two emerging trends: the increase in the number of people who own pets; and, more important, owners humanising their dogs and cats, as if they were their (highly indulged) children.

The swimming pool at Critterati in Gurugram

In Gurugram’s upscale Galleria market, a luxury hotel exclusively for four-legged guests is a sign of the dog’s life being upgraded. Critterati, which opened eight months ago, has a swimming pool where owners can host pool-side parties for their friends and pets. The rooms are lavishly outfitted with velvet beds, fluffy mattresses, television and surveillance cameras. 

The flat screen TVs at the hotel are not merely adornments, insists Critterati co-founder Jaanvi Chawla. “Lots of dogs watch TV — cartoons, movies. It makes them feel secure,” she says. The idea for the hotel was inspired by her own dog whom she lost three years ago. “I was not satisfied with the available spaces as they were not hygienic,” she says. 

The pet hotel offers 25 rooms across seven categories — standard, deluxe, junior suite, royal suite, family suite and so on — and can accommodate 30 dogs at a time. Already, some owners are boarding their pets for three months, others for a night. The rates start at Rs 999 for a standard room for a night.

The facilities include a pet boutique, a photo studio, café, a bakery and a spa that offers Ayurvedic treatments — massages, facials and baths. On any given day, one can find a number of pets getting their nails trimmed or having their paws treated with therapeutic oils.

From Gurugram to Chennai, and many places in between, such services catering to pets are flourishing.

In Delhi, Rashi Narang, the founder of Heads Up for Tails, has created a million-dollar business styling pets in custom-fit couture. Narang’s collection of sequin kurtas, lehengas, sherwanis and tuxedos, which carry price tags of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, are a hit with image-conscious pet owners.

“On multiple occasions, such as family weddings or festivals, we have received orders to make sherwanis and dresses that match the clothes of the dog parent. In some cases, they have given us matching fabric to make the dog’s outfit,” Narang says. 

The clothing line includes bomber jackets, sweatshirts, skirts, sweaters, T-shirts and raincoats for Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. For another Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 accessories such as bandanas and socks can be thrown in.

That the dog — or cat — might not appreciate being dressed up as a human is another matter. In fact, most veterinarians maintain that it is not wise to doll up the pet — even the winter coats that people make dogs wear are avoidable because they leave the animal’s skin dry and prone to infections.

It is, however, necessary to groom the dog. But not happy with just brushing the pet every day, several owners want nothing short of a salon treatment for their pets. So, at the Heads Up for Tails’ spas in Bengaluru and Delhi, about 50 dogs land up every week to be primped.

The busiest time is from March to June, when as many as 100 dogs — from poodles to bull dogs — come for customised beauty treatment in a week. Sample some of the treatments: calming, antiseptic, pain-relieving and bug-repelling massages; bathing, conditioning and blow-drying; deep cleansing and shine enhancement for light-coloured coats. The list is long. The current favourite with owners of especially small breeds such as Maltese, Lhasa Apsos, Spitz and Pomeranians is the “Asian style of grooming”, which makes the pet look fluffier and more manageable.

But what if your pet can’t go to the salon? Well, then the salon will come to the pet. If Delhi has Flying Fur, a mobile pet-grooming service, Chennai has Kabbs, which was launched two years ago and caters to both cats and medium-sized to small dogs, though 90 per cent of the clientele hails from the canine fraternity.

Kabbs also offers a service called a “French clay wrap” to help remove toxins from the pet’s skin. For, while shampooing takes care of the hair, the skin, which is the site of most infections, remains neglected. “So, we put this clay on the pet and shampoo it off when it’s semi-dry,” explains Sundar Ramaswamy, founder of Kabbs. The cost depends on the size of the dog — from Rs 500 to upward of Rs 1,500.

While Chennai is a conservative market, the trend of creative grooming is catching on in other metros. For example, painting or dyeing a dog to create a panda or a sheep “look” is the most popular. There are also seasonal looks, such as those themed around Halloween or Christmas. To achieve these, pet-owners want only organic colours. “Temporary tattoos for dogs — a heart or (the dog’s) initials on the bum — is another trend,” says Ramaswamy.

Play area at Critterati in Gurugram

All-dressed-up-and-nowhere-to-go is a problem that clearly does not apply to these pampered pets. Initiatives such as Barking Oliver are ensuring this by offering opportunities for the pets to socialise — in style. Jeru Jeejeebhoy, who founded Oliver Pet Care in Mumbai along with Fram Petit to offer healthy and safe products for pets, says she started Barking Oliver after she failed to find “meaningful” social activities for her pet. “Like any child, if pets are given no opportunity to socialise, they will be unaware of what to do when placed in a social situation,” she says.

Barking Oliver organises high-end teas for “pet parents”. The afternoon allows pets and their owners to mingle, take part in pet fashion shows, pose at the photo booth and share a tea box of tarts and biscuits created by Barker’s Dozen, a pet bakery started by Akanksha Arora, an alumnus of The Culinary Institute of America. Arora is committed to making natural, preservative-free, healthy treats, cakes and snacks for canines. Jeejeebhoy also maintains that all the food that Oliver offers is human-grade, and fit for human consumption.

Now, a pet with a life as happening as this also needs a date, one might say. Well, the entrepreneurs who have made canines and felines their business have thought of this too. So, there is PetSutra, which has an Instagram app that allows pet-owners to connect, find a suitable companion for their pets and then play cupid.

The pet world, however, is not all about appearance, partying and match-making. Wellness is an integral part of it. So, there is “doga” — yoga sessions with your dog. And Doggie Dabbas, a catering service that provides home-cooked, human-grade meals for pets on a commercial scale. At Rs 8,000 a month, it costs about Rs 3,000 more than normal dog food. But its advantages outweigh the cost, says Rashee Kachroo who founded Doggie Dabbas after her pet Labrador started to put on weight eating packaged food purchased from stores. “You won’t need to buy your pet fancy clothes; his coat will shine with a healthy glow,” she says.  

Then there are therapy sessions for pets, like the kind Pooch is currently undergoing.

Pooch’s sessions are, in fact, a bit peculiar. He spends long hours enclosed in a sand-filled pen, the size of a basketball court, with his human therapist. They do not talk, but just stare at each other — it is apparently one way he can be taught to trust strangers.

Other pets with less severe problems — like licking their peers — are handled by Stella, a three-year-old Rottweiler who leads a team of therapy dogs. Stella has the self-reliance and steady disposition required of a counsellor. If a mischievous puppy comes charging at her, she doesn’t move — sometimes for hours — till the puppy learns that its behaviour is not rewarding.

Such therapy, of course, costs money. A two-hour counselling session with Adnan Khan, who runs the canine facility called the K9 School from the leased-out farm at Chattarpur, costs a minimum of Rs 2,000. And a month-long stay comes for Rs 45,000.

The biggest pull for entrepreneurs like Khan is the realisation that working with pets is their true calling. In Gurugram, Rana Atheya made a mid-career switch from the corporate world to start dogspot.in, an e-commerce portal that sells pet fashion and food. Started in 2008, Atheya’s venture has attracted investments from Ratan Tata and Ronnie Screwvala, and is already profitable. “It was a choice between pursuing my passion and opting for the safety of a steady job,” says Atheya. “The journey has been extremely exciting.”

Khan echoes that feeling. Khan set up the K9 School, which offers training, boarding and therapy to dogs, two-and-half years ago after selling luxury commercial space for real estate consultancy JLL for a year. 

Business has been booming. Apart from training and boarding, a number of dogs are brought to the school for therapy. The humanisation of pets, says Khan, is partly to blame. “People like to treat pets as ornaments. They just want their pet to be like them and forget what the dog wants,” he rues. “This is stressing them out.”

A tea party for pets