When Tanvi Vaidyanathan was setting up her turtle tank, she had to contact her friends outside the country to get a reptile UV bulb and a basking board. She asked aquarium shops for other turtle owners, but drew a blank every time.
“Finally, I found a forum where fellow turtle-owners from other countries were exchanging ideas,” she says.
Animal lovers in the city say that although it is now getting easier for pet owners to get what they need, and share information, the city is still years behind Delhi and Bengaluru.
“It was only recently that a number of hostel facilities have come up for dogs. Until recently, there were not many dog groomers and canine behaviour experts. And, dogs are a common pet in the city,” says Shravan Kumar, who runs Hotel for Dogs. Although there are resources for other animals as well, they are often difficult to find, he added.
Now, a number of online communities are being set up to help pet owners connect. Www.ennanban.com, for example, hosts listings for pet professionals in the city, whether they are veterinarians, organisations or products. It was started by R. Jayaprakash, an IT professional, and his wife Sangeetha, who came up with the idea a few years ago.
“The portal is completely free, and we encourage discussion amongst pet owners to help solve the problems they have,” Sangeetha says.
Another popular Chennai-based community for pets is Petcialise, which organises socialising events every month. “We were formed because earlier, the only way to meet other pet owners was to visit the vet,” Rohit Koliyot, who started Petcialise, says. “Although we do these events, and there are a few more in the city, there is still a need for more exchange of information,” he added.
According to Karishma Rajaratnam, who runs The Pound, an online community on Facebook to help promote animal welfare, there are a number of people who are willing to help. “People are more open to rescuing animals, and helping with adoption now,” she said.
Every day, there are new Facebook pages opening to help bring animal lovers and pet parents together. “Chennai’s pet owners still need to go a long way to build a strong community to improve animal welfare,” Mr. Koliyot said.
