The Truth about Cats & Dogs

At Pets Oasis, a boarding home for pets, as I am led to the kennel I think of the film Hotel for Dogs. Piped music plays in the background and there are cozy cushions and soft toys set up at each air-conditioned cubicle for friendly-looking, tail-wagging inhabitants.

Owned by veterinarian Elizabeth Thomas, Pets Oasis is a den in Umm Al Quwain where pets can relax while their owners are away on vacation. Elizabeth, of course, cannot think of the last time she went on vacation. For her, summer holidays means welcoming new pets to her boarding house and having a house full of animals for company. “The pleasure is in being here,” she points to her modest office, as caged dogs in the nearby room woofed in agreement.

Elizabeth finds herself taking care of a range of animals including summer boarders like parrots, turtles, guinea pigs and even fish — besides dogs and cats. Taking a tour of the cattery, she explains the netting on the cats’ cubicles. “We don’t want to isolate the cats from each other completely, so the netting is such that they cannot put their paws or their nose through, but at the same time they can see through it.”

A mini play area — or “gym” as Elizabeth puts it — occupies the centre of the room, complete with miniature scratchboards and chairs. Cats love to scratch hence their nails are trimmed regularly. “We give them a hair cut if required, and a full brush out, a bath, a blow dry, ear clean, nail clip and eye clean. When the boys clean the cats, they rummage their fingers through the body hence it is like a massage. It’s a spa!” she says, triumphantly.

For first time boarders, the first 24 hours becomes crucial. “We go and talk to them and cuddle them, their chins are stroked and if they don’t eat, we feed them,” explains Elizabeth.

In summers, the pets are kept indoors from 9 am to 4 pm with the A/C and the music on. And yes, music is calming and pets feel more at home, I am told.

PetZone LLC has its own kennel and cattery in Dubai’s Al Quoz, PetZone Chalets. Sameer Ayach, administrator of PetZone LLC compares his ‘guests’ with those at five-star hotels. “But a hotel guest can complain unlike the pet,” he laughs. Clearly, it is not an easy job. As pets remain indoors for a long time, keeping the kennel and cattery clean with detergents and disinfectants is a must. Staying away from the family can be stressful for the pet, so Sameer asks owners to bring along a T-shirt or a pillow, so that its familiar smell will reassure the pet and help him adjust to his new surroundings quickly.

Apart from making sure that the pet has been administered important vaccinations, Sameer explains that the owner must mention the schedule of eating and exercising, plus information about how many times the pet must be taken out for walks. The pet has to be bathed and checked for fleas before entering the kennel.

Laura Glanfield’s Posh Paws off the Dubai Bypass Road has an amusing story behind its inception. “I started Posh Paws grooming nearly five years ago after my dog Berty came back from the groomers with a bad haircut and I thought ‘I can do this better!’ I went to the UK on a month-long grooming course and came back to set up 
my business.”

Posh Paws offers services like boarding, collection and delivery, pet relocation and grooming. Located in a plush farm, it’s a picture out of a storybook: cats and dogs relax here with the birds chirping in the background and ducks and chickens, to keep them company… all that’s missing is a cool drink with a straw! “Each pet has its own A/C kennel and own private garden, the dogs have paddling pools in the play areas, they love it!” says Laura, excitedly.

Just before making a new entry in my list of ‘probable alternate professions’, a question popped up in my head: are there cases of abandoned pets at these centres? Elizabeth smiles sadly. “Yes… With people losing jobs, there are high instances of pets being abandoned. It breaks my heart. I have to find a home for them … I don’t agree with putting them to sleep.”

She tells me a lovely story. “In September 2007, a cat named Jameel stayed with me for eight months; the owner didn’t come back. A lady from this region walked in one day saying she wants a cat — and her name was Jameela! Instantly, she took a fancy to this cat, who stayed with her for six months. Then, I got a call from a family in the US who asked for Jameel. They said they given her to a friend to look after while they were away and had called every pet centre in the region to find the cat. Jameela said, ‘If I have grown to love Jameel so much in six months, how much dearer she must be to her original owners!’ And so she had to part with the cat who went back to the US.” But not all stories have happy endings. Sameer tells about this Labrador who had to be given to a family in Germany when its original owner remained impossible to reach. Finally, he did turn up — and wanted see his dog. Sameer refused, while assuring him his dog was in safe hands. “If you leave your pet behind, we cannot keep them here for a long time. It’s not fair to the pets!”

Laura’s longest-staying boarder is Bonzo, a six-year-old Labrador whose owners never came back; he still needs a home. “Don’t get me started on irresponsible pet owners! Pets are for life!”

Elizabeth has a couple of ‘special’ boarders too — blind and deaf pets, three-legged cats and so on. “We have 19-year-old cats and we have the low rung cattery for them. They sniff around the place and settle down really soon.” What about deaf dogs? “It’s all about the body language you develop: a tug of the leash can mean ‘walk’.”

She often gets ‘love notes’ from grateful owners that say, ‘You made my dog smile’ or ‘You gave my dog a good time’. And, that makes all the difference.

anu@khaleejtimes.com

Sanctuary for Lost Souls

Alongside running Posh Paws, Laura set up an animal sanctuary and petting farm at the beginning of April. It’s a big hit with school parties and weekend family visits. “All animals, birds, reptiles, even insects are either rescued, donated or unwanted; we have a huge camel spider and a few legless lizards! We have horses for riding and hand-reared goats. When school students come here, we want to have an educational experience where they can learn and have a hands-on experience with all the wonderful creatures there. We have sugar gliders, chipmunks, chinchilla, a very funny ferret, rabbits, hamsters, rats, mice, iguanas, terrapins, parakeets, horses, a baby baboon and many others. Each animal has its own unique needs… We are desperately in need of volunteers and funding, sponsorship and jumble sale organisers,” says Laura.