Chew on this! Pets live it up

BANGALORE: Big money is a small price that some pay to keep their pets fulfilled and well fed.
Even Rs 20,000 a month is chicken feed for pet-pampering corporate couple Akkshye and Meghaa Tulsyan.
Their English Mastiff, Giant Schnauzer, macaw and cockatoo gorge only on imported food. Every month, dog chow worth Rs 15,000 is imported from France and the US."I just like my dogs," explains Akkshye, adding that he also brings back boxes of bird feed from his bimonthly foreign trips.
The Tulsyans have company in Anjali Aggarwal, principal of St. Marks School, West Delhi. She spends not less than Rs 9,000 per month for her "babies". She says, "I buy my 15 dogs imported Royal Canine chow; they also eat over a kilo of mutton every day." This is in addition to the rice and dal mix and an egg. If hunger still strikes, they can lap up milk from bowls always kept around the house.
They are so indulged because, after all, they are family.
This is also true of the Hukkus in Whitefield. "Our pets are our kids," says Kaveri Hukku. Their monthly pet food spend is upwards of Rs 5,000. They’ve hired help to look after their three cats, all strays because, she has "more than a full-time job." In Bangalore, they buy imported dry and wet cat food and when Kaveri goes abroad, she brings back tins of favourite cat fare.
World brands like Eukanaoba, Propac, Royal Canine, Bento Kronen, Purina, Hills Food and Nutripet are being brought in from France, the US, Belgium and Holland for these privileged animals. E.V. Jayakaran, owner of pet shop Glenands admits that smaller the pet, the more expensive the food.
"Rabbit feed is the most expensive today, followed by that for scorpions and hamsters," he says.
Ingredients in pet chow range from cereals and chicken to lamb, fish, rice flour, corn & chicken fat, duck, rabbit and mixed vegetables. Pet owners also throw in fresh meat, raw fruits and vegetables for good measure.
For busy people, imported pet food is a handy option in terms of time and convenience.
Also, they are more aware and widely travelled, with high spending power. Professor of medicine, The Veterinary College, Bangalore, Dr S. Yathiraj has seen 20 per cent increase in the demand. If you need more food for thought, Akkshye’s dogs live in an air-conditioned enclosure with a bodyguard to watch over them. And Kaveri doesn’t mind waking up at night to take her "slow" cat to the litter bed. It definitely isn’t a dog’s life!