Kathmandu

It always feels good to own a pet. But the question is are you paying it back for its love and fidelity by taking a proper care of it? Dogs, by nature, are pack animals and love to be in a group. But when you separate pups from their mother and other siblings and bring them to your home, it becomes your responsibility to take care of them in return of their loyalty by giving them a little care and time of your own. Mount Everest Kennel Club at Old Baneshwor offers householders help in such matters.

Starting it all

Suresh Shah’s family home always had dogs. His love for dogs and lack of knowledge about the proper way of rearing pets spurred him to do something important for them. And it was none other than a generous spirited Mrs Shah who inspired him while herself putting in some of the bulk of his laudable efforts. “With my wife and a helper, I started Mount Everest Kennel Club in 1997,” Shah said. “Back then, the dog population in the city was high but there was no scope of any business yet as most people kept pets just out of a neighbourly envy.” However, Shah was sure that times would change and his organisation, with Kathmandu Municipality, initiated keeping the record of about 65,000 pet dogs in town and at the same time started educating people about the proper way of keeping a pet. “I was sure that once the awareness is created, there would certainly be room for creating a business,” said Shah. The club also organises a dog exhibition every year on Kukur Tihar, the second day of Dipawali, which is a special day for the worship of dogs.

Shah was right with his intuitions. In eight years time, his organisation has registered more than 55,000 members and employed more than 60 persons that include doctors, counsellors, dog instructors and helpers. Baburam Pokharel is the senior instructor of the club. He received a monthlong training from an Australian dog trainer, Steve Austin. “The first thing in training is establishing a relationship with the dog. Then comes the task of making them obey commands,” informs Pokharel, adding, “Most owners prefer their pets trained in doing fun activities but the main focus of the training should be shaping the behaviour.” The most important clue, according to Pokharel, is a reward, be it in the form of its favourite food, or, a pat on the back. It is only for this reward that the pet starts repeating the action.

Services at MEKC

Consultancy services. The club has a team of counsellors that goes door-to-door to dog owners’ homes and enquires about their problems, providing free of cost information about the proper way of taking care of dogs. Treatment. The club has a clinic where veterinary doctors provide treatment including surgery at a competitive charge. Home service. Mount Everest Kennel Club provides medication and treatment for pet dogs and other services at the owner’s place when requested by the clients. Pure breeding. It helps owners of male or female dogs of special breeds find members of the same breed to mate with. Puppies for sale. It buys and sells pure breeds of dogs. They even import pure breed from India and elsewhere for which might cost from Rs 4,000 - 40,000. Training. It provides training for dogs to make them compliant and well mannered. Kennel boarding. When the dog owners need to go out for a short period of time, the club provides kennel-boarding services.

Vaccination reminder. With the help of their database, they even remind their clients about the dates the dogs should be vaccinated.

A family with four canines

Shivani Timilsina’s family includes husband Madhav, daughter Shristi, son Shrey, Shivani’s mother and four dogs — Nutty, Cuddle, Pema and Ginger. The whole family is very fond of dogs. Having a pet at home is not very uncommon but why would someone like to have so many? Shristi says, “Earlier, we had five but unfortunately one died and now we have only four.” Madhav Timilsina adds, “When you consider them as your family, you won’t feel a single member is more than necessary.” Three of them are of Pomeranian breed. Ginger is a different breed, a very good rat-killer but not that friendly with people. They are all very pampered except Pema who is very well mannered. Taking care of them all seems not at all a trouble for Timilsina family.