Things Indian Pet Parents do

 

           Us, Indians, have a culture that percolates into our every fibre. And why then should our pets be left out? What are those things that you will find only an Indian pet parent doing? And how many checkboxes do you tick off?

Let's go..

 

Pet pooja

          Hey, they are more than family and no pooja is complete without them. Be it Diwali, Satyanarayan or Ganpati, participating in our religious traditions and then eating prasad is something every Indian pet does. Doesn’t matter if you are a 'German' shepherd or a 'French' bulldog, you become Indian once you are in an Indian family!

The occasion just doesn't feel complete till your pooch takes a bite out of that laddoo or pedha. 

I think it is a great bonding exercise as long as your pet is kept safely away from toxins like chocolates, dried fruits, incense sticks and of course, fire. And as long as you are prepared for a tummy upset.

 

Style Check

           Some of us love to play dress up with our pooches and certainly own atleast one doggie sherwani. Or chanya choli. Or some sort of traditional bandhani design bowtie at the very least. Pet stores also make and sell a lot of these online. 

Indian pets certainly have style. We definitely have the best dressed furbabies.

 

What’s in a name? 

          Indians always have an official name and another one that only the family knows about. You would have one too, wouldn’t you?

Only in India are the vast majority of streeties named Moti, Rani, Raju or Tommy. Even the ones within our homes, they all have nicknames that make absolutely no sense, no? My cat is called pipoo. What is your pet's 'at home' name? 

 

Drop a comment if you know atleast one moti.

 

Their own human nanny

 

          Indians are known for their dependence on their maids and we have a separate individual employed to cook food for us, do household chores, wash the dishes etc. and are pretty much an extension of our families (Remember how sorely we missed them during the lockdown?)

This filters down to pets also having their own individual dedicated nanny in a lot of homes. Some caretakers and their wards bond so well they practically become inseparable. Dogs and cats both come with their own nannies in India. 

Not entirely a dog’s life for everyone, eh?

 

Celebrate festivals!

          This I love best about Indian pet parents. Raksha bandhan and tiny rakhis on doggie paws makes my heart go awww. I don’t see any better person to tie a rakhi to myself. It's even been renamed to 'Pawksha-bandhan' (Can it get any cuter?).

We can go a little overboard with holi and the colours though. These can be toxic for your pet and I’m not sure they enjoy this festival much. Maybe give that a skip? There are so many other ways that you already make their life colourful!

 

Buri Nazar Wale, mera thread kala!

 

          There are other things also that set Indian pets apart. All Indian pet parents worry about 'Buri Nazar' with the cuties that belong to them. Because let’s face it, every single pet parent has the best looking pet and as far as we are concerned, everybody who comments on how good they look has an evil eye.  We will tie black threads or secretly put a tikka somewhere to ward off all the evil circling our furbaby. 

After all, is there even a dog/cat cuter than ours?

 

 

Home remedies for the win!

 

          Indian home remedies are the cure to everything because Grandma always knew best! Then why shouldn't they work for our pets? 

If you have tried atleast one home remedy when your furball wasn't feeling up to it, you are a true blue Indian pet parent!

(Which one have you tried? Haldi? Jeera? Nilgiri?)

 

 

 Eat and be merry

 

         We love to eat and we love to feed don’t we? So it follows that our furbabies also will eat everything on our plate. Our pets taste everything from varan bhat to chole bhature to sabji roti to rasam. It doesn’t matter what the vet tells you, it’s your baby and you just cannot say no to those eyes. (And a little bit is okay ya, Doc.)

 

The sentiment to share is sweet but please exercise caution about feeding your pet an Indian cuisine. Their tummies are not built for the explosion of flavours that the Indian cuisine has to offer. Also, some ingredients could actually be toxic.

 

 

 

          Being a pet in an Indian home is an experience in itself. Let's strive to always be the parents that make it the best!

 

How many of these do you do?

 

 

 

 

- #BeingIndian,

 

Dr. N