Facilitating pet-parents to shop for canine-oriented products at discounted rates, the first urban flea market for pooches was hosted in Mumbai on January 21.
Titled as ‘Urban Dogs’, the one-day fun fest was organised by www.urbanbrat.com and World For All (WFA), an NGO for animal care and adoptions as part of launch of a pet fashion brand, urbanbrat.com. The fest also celebrated the first anniversary of the WFA. “At the event, lots of celebration and festivity happened in terms of discounts, offers, sales, games, fun music, on-the-spot contests, photography and fun activities,” said Apeksha Harihar, founder of urbanbrat.com.
“The event is inspired by a flea market in an urban setup.
Stalls having pet products and services were on discount and registered visitors had a chance to win a jackpot and lucky draw prizes too,” she added.
Prizes for different categories like the best dressed dogs and dogs with the maximum accessories were also given out at the event. Puppies and kittens were also up for adoption at the fest.
Party hats, frilly bracelets and goodie bags were given out to all pet parents who joined the celebrations.
“For the first hundred visitors, special edition of ‘Where’s My Bone’ magazine, India’s first pet lifestyle magazine was handed out,” said Harihar, editor of the magazine.
“The event celebrated the joy of owning a pet and for those who do not have one can fulfil their dreams at the event itself by taking home cute pets absolutely free of cost, being offered by WFA animal care and adoptions,” she added. According to Harihar, the pet market is seeing a steady growth of 36 per cent annually and is estimated to be a Rs.3-4 crore industry at its onset.
“On an average at least 50 people buy or adopt dogs everyday in India. The industry is growing very fast, although it’s still in its nascent stage,” she said.