Facilities for Pets in Delhi
Dog Parks
Delhi’s only real dog-friendly park is at the Lodi Gardens (near Khan Market), a sprawling central Delhi park popular with dog owners and joggers. Here you can let your dog off of his leash without much worry, and there’s plenty of space to run. With the exception of Lodi Gardens, Delhi doesn’t have a lot in terms of dog parks, though most neighborhoods have gated mini parks where you can take your dog. Dogs are not required to be kept on a leash. However, note that many Indians are afraid of dogs, so if yours is overly friendly or has the habit of jumping on people, you may want to use a leash. Street dogs are also an issue and some can be violent, yet another reason why a leash is not a bad idea. Many people also carry a large stick while walking their dogs to keep these strays at bay.
Kennels, Dog-walkers, and Boarding Facilities
Plenty of people in Delhi hire dog-walkers, and it’s a good idea to do so if you have a lot of strays in your area (as then dog walking can become quite scary). Ask your neighbors if they can recommend someone, or if you have a full-time or live-in servant, make this part of his daily chores.As a lot of people have family or servants at home, they usually don’t need to send their dogs to kennels when they go on holiday, so there’s not a huge selection. Here are a few:
- Dog Boarding Training Resorts Alpha-11 (Gurgaon) [Phone: 9810964472, 9312054422]
- Kennel1 Dog Boarding & Training Centre (Gurgaon) [Phone: 124-3251385, 9818601094]
- Pet Lover’s Hut is essentially a day-boarding and training facility, but is a good place to “socialize” your pet with other animals [Phone: 9810007381] http://www.petlovershut.com
Pet Shops
Pet shops in Delhi sell a wide variety of pet food (both imported and locally produced), toys, grooming products as well as beds, leads, toys and treats. Some of the better stocked stores are:
- Bittoo The Pet Shop (Khan Market) that houses dogs, cats, fish and birds. Don’t be surprised if you find a lofty-looking pigeon squawking down at you, or a Labrador pup dodging your feet while he runs behind his German shepherd buddy. This one also stocks fish food, dog food, accessories and pet “beauty and grooming products”. [Phone: 246 98105]
- The 3rd World (Gurgaon) is a one-stop shop for pets and pet comfort accessories. You can also buy dogs here—Dalmatians, Dobermans, Labradors and all the smaller breeds can be found at this pet shop. There are huge fish tanks filled with some unusual looking fish which, we assure you, are different from the ubiquitous goldfish. [Phone: 9910566046]
- Windsor, the Pet Shop (Khan Market) [Phone: 24601191]
- Companion Pet Shop (Kaka Nagar) [Phone: 24351681]
- Live Pets World (Connaught Place) [Phone: 41561255]
- Doggy World (Kingsway Camp) [Phone: 09811299059, 27942285]
- Cucciolo Adorabile (Vasant Vihar) [Phone: 46083130]
Grooming and Other Facilities
Pet grooming is not very well-developed as a service in Delhi. However, the last couple of years have seen a few pet groomers emerge. Some of the reputable ones are:
- Scooby Scrub (Neeti Bagh) is the only pet grooming parlour or dog saloon in Delhi / NCR, established by an avid animal lover couple, Preeti S Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar [Phone: 32448809, 9810897138, 98994 37111, 9310228809]
- Bow Wow Hotel (Gurgaon) has a dog restaurant and club with an extensive menu for dogs with items like sup-slurp soup, pupperroni pizza, etc [Phone: 098101-65652]
Most veterinary doctors also provide basic pet grooming facilities.
Food
Dog and cat food brands like Pedigree and Whiskas are easily available in all pet shops in Delhi. Several Veterinary Surgeons also sell pet food and pet accessories along with animal health pharmaceutical products from their clinics. If your pooch has a taste for something fresh for every meal, you can treat him to gourmet doggy meals prepared and home delivered by:
- Pet Bytes (Haus Khas, Chhattarpur, Saket & NCR) is a retail chain for pet food and accessories in Delhi and NCR, home-delivers piping hot, rice-vegetables-and-meat combo meals. [Phone: 32608809, 98994 37111, 9310128809, 9899437111]
Apart from the above, many other people also serve fresh dog food. You can contact your vet or at a nearby vet shop for more details.
Pet Shelters
If you find an abandoned kitten or pup (not to be confused with a street animal–check for signs of a mother first), you may want to take her to a shelter where she can get proper health treatment and socialise with other pets. Many shelters in India are no-kill facilities.
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- Jeevasram Animal Shelter (Village Rajokri): This Shelter with Pet Cemetery run by a non-profit organisation has a full-fledged hospital for both large and small animals, which includes eighteen kennels, an area for large animals and a cattery. They also offer private boarding which helps finance their various welfare projects. Pets are provided a separate unit consisting of large enclosures inside, and access to an enclosed individual run. [Phone: 25064114/ 99990 88998] http://www.jeevashram.org/
- Sanjay Gandhi Animal Shelter Delhi (Raja Garden) [Phone: 99993 72486]
- Sai Ashram Shelter for Abandoned Animals, [Phone: 098100-99711]
- Circle of Animal Lovers (Saket) [Phone: 26531419, 2653 5517] http://www.circleofanimallovers.org
- Society For Prevention Of Cruelty Of Animals (NOIDA) [Phone: 9811233956]
