In a horrifying video that has been doing the rounds on social media since Tuesday, two groomers from The Vetic Pet Clinic, a pet clinic in Thane, Mumbai, were seen beating a pet dog during a grooming session that surfaced on social media. media. One particularly violent character was seen punching Tofu, a three-year-old Chow Chow, repeatedly, in the face and back. Another man, who was filming the act, also saw several blows, as the animal struggled to get away from them. Even after the dog got off the stretcher, the staff kicked him. The two employees were arrested after a complaint was filed against them on February 13.
Street Dogs of Bombay, an Instagram account, in contact with the owner of Tofu, wrote: “The owner of Tofu will take further action tomorrow morning (Wednesday). by killing, poisoning, harming or scaring any animal) may not be applicable, so they are considering using the IT Act for the FIR. We urged them to also include IPC 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offenses punishable with imprisonment life or other imprisonment) for attempted animal cruelty.”
Law and penalties
Krishna Bhatt, a mother of five dogs was shocked when she saw the video as it was “hard to believe that people like this still exist” in the world. As a pet parent, they put a lot of trust in such pet care businesses, when they send them with the thought that they will be well taken care of. Based in Mumbai, Bhatt says, “Many people are afraid of animals, but cruelty to them is heartbreaking, especially when the dog just sits there and doesn’t attack anyone. My little dog is always afraid in the shower and getting ready and if something happens to him, it will traumatize him even more. When I saw the video, I only ask for one thing – these men are in jail. We need to have a tougher punishment country for cruelty against animals. These animals cannot speak for themselves, they cannot go home and complain to their parents, which makes it even more unjust.”
Do you see an animal subjected to cruelty? Here’s how to help
If an individual is found to be committing cruelty to wild or domestic dogs, they can be charged under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which states that the accused may be liable to a fine ranging from ₹10 to ₹50 for their first offence. To report animal/pet cruelty, call +91 98201 22602, or the local police station.
Siddhartha Menon, from Bangalore, recently lost his 15-year-old puppy, Leela, and cat, Kajri. However, she has never taken her pets to a spa or groomer, instead, she says, “We groom them at home. Put in a lot of sweat and tears, and in the case of cats, there’s blood, too.” An animal lover, Menon says, “Anyone who attacks animals, whether out of impatience or simply being mean, does not deserve to stay in the animal care business. Like us, animals suffer from trauma, and how we interact with them shapes their state of mind. I can’t imagine what the dog must be feeling at this point. Cruelty to any animal should be met with severe fines/imprisonment not only for the staff who commit it but also for the employers.”
Useless actions
While Rahul Bamane, a senior copywriter from Mumbai, was saddened to see the video, he was also perplexed (but in a good way) by people’s reactions. With so many people sharing, commenting and posting about it, the video received a lot of traction and even got the attention of celebrities like actor Varun Dhawan. This led to the Mumbai police quickly apprehending the culprits.
“I don’t understand why he did what he did — was it just for fun, did he get some joy out of it? And there’s another person recording it. It’s surprising that someone who cares for animals did this. Imagine if someone had done this to my dog, Simba, who is a Rottweiler and is known to be an aggressive breed, things would not be the same,” he shared.
The “vicious people in the disgusting video” terrorized Rachna Valia from Mumbai, who has a dog named Oreo. “My heart almost stopped when I saw it. But I don’t know why the dog doesn’t react [to them punching him]. The basic reaction would be fight or flight, and I just heard him bark later. I’m not sure if they feed the dog.” Valia sends her dog to groomers at least once in two months and “has a good experience” with them. She pays them Rs1,800 for a full session , which includes shampoo, conditioner, blow drying, haircut and nails.
Pet grooming services are not a cheap undertaking. Shiromani Das from Mumbai takes her pet dog, Ginger to the groomer every three months. “Pet Grooming My pet is comfortable and in safe hands at our favorite salon. Pets need to be handled with care and what is happening in the video is disturbing and very cruel.”
Agreeing, Anjalika Mukesh Jhangiani from Mumbai has been sending her Golden Retriever, Mojo, to the same pet salon for the past eight years. He pays everywhere ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per bath for his dog and it takes about two to three people about 60 to 70 minutes to bathe him. And while she’s never had a bad experience, she once sent her dog to another salon when her usual place was closed. While they had a good experience, the place closed after a month because another dog died due to the poor service they provided. Jhangiani said, “After hearing about it, no matter what happens, we make sure to wait outside the spa for the entire service. We are not abandoning him to avoid such an incident.”
Pet parents: Be vigilant
Hailing from Panchkula, Haryana, Mukta Nagpal has three cats — Joey, Nina and Nico. “I’ve never personally experienced this type of situation, but that may be because I always accompany them to all vet visits.”
Sharing a “strange incident” that took place at a government animal hospital in Chandigarh, he said, “I took a rescued kitten for a check up and the staff asked me to hold the kitten when one while they were injecting him or weighing him. They even said they would only take his X-Ray if I held him in position. It was strange to see the arrogance, neglect and lack of empathy in animals.”
While unprofessional, this incident may make pet parents hesitate to send their pets to boarding centers or grooming centers, according to Mumbai-based Niall Reynolds, which is not a big deal. fan of sending his dog Delta to such places. H explained, “They will naturally worry about what’s going on behind the scenes. I only sent my dog, Delta, to the groomers once but I was with her the entire time she was being groomed. These services can be expensive and we want to see if it makes sense for us to send him to a groomer regularly or not. That’s just one.”
For Disha Shethia from Mumbai, sending her golden retriever, Sasha, to the groomers is always an uncomfortable time. “Many clinics and groomers ask parents to wait outside their facility while they examine/fix the dogs because they feel more relaxed about the process without us. I had some peace with it. But now, with what happened, I will never leave him. I’ll change facilities if I have to, but I can’t bring myself to trust strangers after this. This clinic has a great social media presence and good reviews in general. If something scary can happen in a facility like this, I think my fear is justified.
Tips for people to choose the best care for their pet
Inputs from Yamika Damani, Pet Parenting Coach
1. Facility transparency level: As a pet parent, you have every right to watch your pet being groomed/trained/boarded. If the pet care professional denies this, 99.9% of the time, it means they can’t be trusted and are hiding something. In this day and age, where technology is so accessible to everyone, you can ask pet care business owners to share live footage/tracking of your pet with their business. If they can’t or refuse to share, make sure they have proper CCTV surveillance in every nook and cranny of their facilities.
2. Pet grooming professional qualifications: Look for groomers and trainers with professional training and certification from reputable institutions. Just being a “pet lover” and “self-learned” does not give a person the necessary qualifications to take care of your pet.
3. Gut feeling: Many times pet parents will have a natural instinct that something is wrong before they put their pet in the hands of a pet care professional. If you think something is amiss or even have the slightest doubt, I strongly advise you to pick up your dog and run for your life!
