ZARA THE RETRIEVER

Meet Hamsika Mani and Sairam Santhanam, proud parents of our ‘Pet of the Month’, Zara the retriever…. We got an opportunity to touch base with them and getting to know from pet parent’s point of view, what challenges they face while raising a pet. Here are excerpts from their life of being first-time pet parents……

- Hamsika Mani and Sairam Santhanam

WHEN DID YOU BRING ZARA IN YOUR LIFE? IS SHE YOUR FIRST PET?

She is our first pet. We brought her home on 6th April, 2018. We even remember the date; she is so close to us.

IS THERE ANY STORY BEHIND THIS NAME ‘ZARA’?

The brand Zara was very captivating for us. We observed that there was a striking similarity between how pet was responding and the name ‘Zara’. Literally, Zara means something blossoming out; her every look blossomed happiness inside us. We wrote different names on chits and let her pick one. Guess what? It was Zara.

WHEN YOU DECIDED TO GET HER, WERE YOU LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR BREED OF A DOG?

Hamsika: No, we were open to anything. At that point of time, we just needed a pet. Our families are a little orthodox and did not like pets at all. Initially, even I was afraid of pets. But, Sairam loved dogs. He took me to different dog cafes and to friends who had pets, so that I get familiar with them first. Then we decided that we are ready to have a pet now.

Sairam: I remember that incident. When we were in Mumbai, we had been to one of the popular cafes; there was one Golden Retriever, which got attached with Hamsi. It was time to close that café, but the dog was reluctant to leave her. Café owner said, “The breed is fixed now”. I was wary at first, but when I saw Hamsi was so comfortable with that dog, we decided to take a Golden Retriever.

WHAT IS ZARA’S DIET LIKE? WHAT DO YOU GENERALLY FEED HER?