Doggy Haven' in Thiruvananthapuram soon
Lexi's Doggy Haven will be functional from next month and the charges will be Rs 250 per day for a puppy and Rs 400 per day for an adult dog.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city will soon have a ‘dog haven’ where people can leave their pets when they go on a holiday. Anuvhuti Bisht, 26, an Uttarakhand native and a ‘People for Animals’ volunteer settled here, will start a home-based dog hostel, Lexi’s Doggy Haven, at Sreekariyam as a not-for-profit venture. Ms. Bisht has two dogs of her own-- Alfie, a two- and-a-half-year-old male golden retriever and Molly, a six-month- old female golden retriever, who are both rescued dogs. She rarely travels out of the state as she doesn’t like to part with her pet dogs.
On the few occasions she travelled to her native place, her friends took care of her pets. But she was not happy with the outcome which led her to start a home-based pet boarding centre. Lexi’s Doggy Haven will be functional from next month and the charges will be Rs 250 per day for a puppy and Rs 400 per day for an adult dog. Boiled chicken with rice will be provided along with fresh vegetables. Fruits will be given as mid-day snack. “At a time, I will take only five to eight pet dogs under my care,” said Anuvbhuti who worked in the corporate sector earlier.
It was her husband, Kumar Atmjeet’s job with Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) as a research scientist that brought the couple to the city. The pets will not be tied to a kennel in their house at Karumbukonam, near Sreekariyam. She also said that 50 percent of the proceeds will go to PFA which will later be used to care for the shelter dogs. No sick dogs will be taken to avoid infections.
Indira Latha, trustee of PFA, told DC that she was unhappy with majority of the existing dog hostels in the city. The pets require a personal touch when their “dog parents” are away, she said. “Rather than going for huge facilities, it is better to provide a personal touch for a minimal number of pet dogs,” said Latha. Veterinary doctors also demanded that both PFA and Animal Welfare Board members should initiate routine scrutiny in the existing dog hostels.