Coming out of the fully air-conditioned cinema hall, just after watching a movie, I started walking downstairs to grab a bite somewhere. I was in a Noida mall. Just as I was about to climb down another flight of stairs, my eyes fell on this “shop”. Being a self confessed animal lover, I decided that my stomach had to wait.
I went inside and was greeted by a woman who was the manager of the ‘shop’. What I saw inside did make me happy for the moment, but disturbed my whole day later on.
There we three puppies, two labradors and a bulldog, all inside a little cage. It looked so stuffy that I wanted to rescue the poor puppies. What was more heart wrenching was the fact that they were all aged between 30-35 days. The pups were waiting to be hugged and loved.
The swanky mall was their new home, away from their siblings and mother. Whom they needed for their full psychological development. Snatching away a kid from their mother is shattering for both the pup and as well as the mother dog.
The manager there was so proud of the fact that she had such beautiful pups on sale, she kept repeating that how they cost 15000 – 17000,and if I wanted to buy she could negotiate, and they were at a discounted price! I felt like I was in a clothes store where each and every salesman tries to tell you how their product is better and cheaper. I felt so disgusted with myself, I just walked out of the store.
Isn’t adopting a pet all about having a new family member and love and emotions? Since when did they become such a commodity? I wanted to ask the manager if she was also bought by her parents in the same fashion? I agree to some extent that some people wish to keep pets of a certain breed, but such ruthless materialisation makes me cringe in pain. I wish the pet lovers come forward and boycott such “shops”. It’s us, as customers who can do something about it, and I strongly feel that we should. It’s high time that we shoulder our responsibilities.
The writer is a Animal Rights and Activism journalist with Youth Ki Awaaz.