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Across the world, pets are driving big businesses for pet-friendly entrepreneurs. In India, the pet industry is currently valued at around Rs. 500 crore, growing at about 25 percent. And this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg, says Anupama Vinayak, founder of Petvacations.in. Only one in a 100 Indian homes has a pet, as opposed to one out of three in the United States. The potential for growth in this segment is undeniable, as these early movers will vouch for.

ANGEL THERAPY
Unlike professional dog trainers Rohini Fernandes and Radhika Nair, Angel—co-therapist at the Mumbai-based Angel Animals Foundation—is not a certified practitioner in animal assisted therapy (AAT). Whereas the other two therapists are graduates from the University of North Texas and the Delta Society, Angel can provide just what the doctor ordered: love, attention and emotional therapy.

The Angel Animals Foundation (AAF) was started in January 2005 by Rohini Fernandes. This first-of-its-kind organization offers animal assisted therapy along with Angel, Radhika’s Golden Retriever. Angel was the inspiration behind the organization’s name and was also its first therapy dog. Six months later, Fernandes was joined by her batch mate Radhika Nair as a co-founder, and the foundation was launched—with zero funding.

Although pet-oriented therapy—initially developed by Dr. Boris Levinson—has been practiced for over three decades in the West, it is a new concept in India. Due to this, the duo faced considerable difficulty in raising funds from investors and venture capitalists.

However, a few presentations with NGOs and schools set the ball rolling for Rohini and Radhika. They believe that animal assisted therapy can treat learning and developmental disabilities, emotional and behavioral problems, and other psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Today, AAF has 20 therapy dogs, one cat and an aquarium of fish. It practices in three special schools, two mental health institutes and a daycare center for patients with dementia. Their clients range from age one to 95 years. “Animals are great motivators and are used, through various activities, [to help] children develop social, verbal and motor skills. A simple task like brushing a dog’s coat has proven to be a therapeutic remedy for several disorders; it has generated great results,” says Radhika Nair.

AAF currently earns its money through a small service fee that it charges NGOs and schools. Over the years, it has also attracted funding from angel investors, mainly those who generously came forth on their own.

A regular pet therapy session typically lasts 30-45 minutes and costs Rs. 500-1,000. Both therapists offer tailor-made programs, divided into three stages, for each client. The whole process is documented and then evaluated.

“Alternative therapy [such as this] is gradually gaining ground,” says Fernandes. We’ve been contacting hospitals as well to take animal assisted therapy to heart patients and people with other physical illnesses.”

PET JET SETTERS
Anupama Vinayak and her husband loved to travel. However, it all came to an end four and a half years ago when they adopted Banjo, a Labrador Retriever pup. At the time, barely any holiday resorts or hotels in India allowed pets. Fed up with the situation, Vinayak finally tracked down five pet-friendly resorts and put them up on her travel portal, travelsquare.in. The resounding response she got from that small addition sowed the seeds for her new venture, Pet Vacations.

It was only after spending a good nine months researching and tying up with resorts, hotels, bungalows and serviced apartments that Anupama launched petvacations.in, Asia’s first pet travel portal, in August 2008. While it took her nearly four months to convince 20 resorts to sign up with her, she currently has more than 400 2-5 star properties registered, spread across 150 Indian destinations. By the end of this year, Anupama expects to have more than 1,000 properties listed on her portal and also include South East Asian destinations, as these are popular with Indian tourists.

The deal struck ensures that all pet bookings at these properties are done via petvacations.in; the properties do not directly accept pet bookings. Moreover, the website only lists the property codes, not the names. “This is to ensure anonymity. Guests can check out photographs of the properties for selection purposes, though. [This is because] these properties do not want to publicize themselves as pet-friendly destinations, as most people in India are still averse to having animals live on the same premise as themselves,” Anupama explains.

By accepting bookings through her portal, Anupama not only ensures a steady stream of business, but also takes the onus on herself for any mishap that might happen at any property because of a pet. She charges pet owners a fee of Rs. 500, therefore, for every reservation through her site. She also earns a commission from the vacation properties, some of which charge between Rs. 100 to Rs. 2,000 per night for pet accommodation.

Business has been good right from the start. The website gets over 1,000 hits a day and has around 10,000 registered users. Anupama herself gets around 20 calls a day for queries on pet vacations. Close to 30 percent of her clients are foreign tourists who travel to India and often like to bring their pets along. Therefore, in addition to helping them find accommodation, she also facilitates importing pets, offers pet-friendly taxi services and provides contacts for pet-related issues.

Vinayak has already made close to Rs.30 lakh in revenue since August last year. “Initially, I had to convince properties to tie up with me, as it is a niche business. But now, they call me [to register with my portal],” she says about the turn of events.

Anupama plans to keep adding niche pet services to petvacations.in. She has already started arranging for dog birthday parties, and soon pet portraits by professional artists will follow.

Tags:
AAF, Angel Animals Foundation, animals, Anupama Vinayak, Pet Vacations, pets, portal, Radhika Nair, Rohini Fernandes, therapy, travel