Kashika with her two-month-old Maltese, Katie; (above) a glimpse of her pet parlour in Bakultala. Pictures by Anindya Shankar Ray

That Calcutta is finally waking up to the needs of its four-legged friends is good news. And that the efforts are being led by youngsters is even better. The latest addition to the handful of pet salons in the city is Kashika’s Pampered Paws, opened by 20-year-old Kashika Arora.

Located at 28B Bakultala Road (on the Kasba connector), the pet pamper point and clinic is the first Calcutta franchisee of Pet Bytes and Scoopy Scrub, a Delhi-based professional pet grooming parlour where Kashika trained to become a certified groomer.

“Calcutta, unlike other metros, is still lagging in terms of pet care. I wanted to bring the pet salon culture to the city. Initially my parents were quite apprehensive but today they are happy that I am doing something this big completely on my own,” says the BCom graduate from The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society College.

“When I got my first pet, I was filled with questions — how to brush their hair, what about the hair falling on the eyes...? They can’t speak but they have specific needs. And not every salon offered breed-specific grooming. Like for my Lhasa apso (with long hair), I had gone to a salon in summer but they didn’t do any haircut,” recounts Kashika, as she grooms her eight-month-old Lhasa apso, Kiwi.

The Bakultala pet salon should put an end to some of your worries — it specialises in breed-specific styling, medicated bath, tartar treatment, tick and flea baths and more, complete with vets on call and regulation pet accessories like collars, belts, toys and more.

A medicated bath starts at Rs 350, while basic grooming costs Rs 650 and full grooming Rs 1,200.

Sreyoshi Dey