May 16: An awful summer just turned (p)awesome for your pet dog.
Nawab Dastan, a clinic in FD Block of Salt Lake, has opened a swimming pool exclusively for dogs to splash about and get their regular exercise without going down on all fours because of the heat.
A furry few got to test the waters on May 9 but the pool has been closed since for some final additions before it formally opens on June 1.
Ashima Dutta Roy, who had started the clinic in 2012 and named it after a pet called Nawab, said she decided to open the pool after her dog Guddu died of renal failure last December. "Guddu's vet said that exercise would have helped her. Since she was old and could not run, swimming was her best bet. But there were no pet pools in the city," recalled Ashima.
Groups of pet owners are known to organise splash parties in summer using inflatable pools in the absence of a real one. Ashima's brick-and-mortar pool dedicated to dogs is on her second-floor terrace. "The water level can be adjusted depending on the breed using it and will never be above chest level," she said.
The quality of the water, Ashima insists, is good enough to drink. Not only is the water chlorine-free to prevent skin or eye allergies, the pool also has four filters to remove iron and bacteria.
Ashima was helped in building the pool by Soumyajit Das, a pet parent and managing director of the State Fisheries Development Corporation. "Fish are very sensitive to water quality; so we have high-quality filters for them. I helped Ashima acquire similar filters for this pool," he said.
His dog Lhasu Rani has a kidney disorder and is unable to exercise much; so having access to a pool is just what the doctor ordered for her.
Membership rules
A dog asking for a dip would need a vet's certificate declaring the pet fit to swim and free of skin disease. The age eligibility is six months and above and the maximum a member pet can swim is for 30 minutes twice a week. "It isn't advisable for dogs to swim more often than this," Ashima explained.
Membership will be on a six-month basis and the rate is around Rs 500 a month.
Life jackets would be provided for dogs that cannot swim because of some reason. "It's a myth that all dogs are natural swimmers," said veterinarian Subhas Sarkar, who manages the clinic downstairs. "Breeds with short legs like Pugs, Bulldogs and Dachshunds cannot swim and I am glad life jackets are being arranged for them."
Sarkar said swimming was not only an enjoyable experience for dogs but also an effective form of therapy. "Dogs with paralysis or spine injuries cannot fight gravity to walk or run for exercise. I have had many such patients but there was no pool like this one to prescribe hydrotherapy."
Ritu Gupta of Salt Lake's AJ Block, had taken Brownie, her Lhasa Apso, and Muffin, a Golden Retriever, to the pool for a dip on May 9. "Delhi has many pet pools and I am glad Calcutta now has one," said Ritu, who got into the pool herself to introduce them to the joys of swimming.
Brownie and Muffin just might refuse to get out of the water next time, thanks to the "jacuzzi-like system" that Ashima is getting installed.
