Khushnuma Jabulee delves into the world of DoggieMonials, a dog matrimonial service provided by ‘Dogs & More’ magazine.
When Suki first met Dash, sparks flew when they laid eyes on each other… only from Dash’s end that is. Their parents ended up helping them get along since Suki was very shy and was playing hard to get.
A female Dachshund named Suki, aged three is the apple of her parent’s eye and her siblings love her like their very own. So when they came across a matrimonial service for dogs, a venture kick-started by magazine ‘Dogs & More’, they knew it was time for them to find her a mate.
DoggieMonials is a Facebook page providing pet parents a platform to find the ‘perfect partner for their pooch’.The process of doing so is pretty straightforward. One simply drops in an email at doggiemonials@gmail.com with a good resolution image of their little furball along with their name, age, breed and health specifications. Since this platform is specifically for pet parents, and not breeders, they look through the information after due diligence and then post it on their Facebook page. The pet parents themselves can go directly to their Facebookpage and post it, and they share it if it meets with their criteria.
Since social media is a melting pot of cultures and sees no geographic boundaries as a hindrance, DoggieMonials is not limited to Mumbai. They have gotten a couple of registrations from Bangalore and Noida too.
“I came to know of it through ‘Dogs & More’. I thought it would be the perfect platform to find a match for Suki who I have been wanting to mate for a while now. DoggieMonials looked like a safe and interactive medium for the same,” said Suki’s mother Leah Rosario.
The concept of DoggieMonials was started long ago at their yearly carnival for dogs, the Dog A’Fair, though it was still an informal way of helping pet parents look for mates. The formal Facebook page launch happened at Dog A’Fair this January.
Farzana Contractor, the Editor of ‘Dogs & More’ magazine herself is a dedicated pet parent to two Lhasa Apso girls, namely Inshy and Tasha Contractor. “You see, we publish ‘Dogs & More’, a premium pet magazine, which I edit. Plus we organise Dog A’Fair, a fun carnival for dogs which is attended by 100’s of pet parents, so naturally we would have friends, readers and visitors at our carnival, approaching us to help them find a mate for their little ones. Matter of common interests, I guess. Being a pet parent myself, I know from personal experience it was so important to find a right mate, and at times it is so difficult. We realised we have the contacts, therefore we reach out to a whole lot of
pet parents by virtue of our work. Hence the idea of DoggieMonials,” said Mrs. Contractor.
One set of pet parents send a request to another if they like the profile of their little one and wait for them to reply and agree upon an arrangement. If that works out, one must waste no time and let the future Mister and Missus Paw meet each other in hopes of birthing brother and sister Paw! That’s how Suki’s mother, Leah worked things out with Dash’s parents. “So the boy’s side had seen Suki’s request on the site and called me up saying they had a male Dachshund named Dash who is one and a half years old. We took her and went to Versova after the meeting was arranged.”
“When they first met, Dash was very eager but Suki was not willing to mate. She was playing hard to get. Finally, after hours of exhaustion from trying to get them to interact, the mating was successful with more than a little help from all of us!” says Leah.
You see, some love stories live on forever, and hopefully Suki’s does too through her little palm sized nuggets that she might get bestowed with after the mating. “Post the mating, she is doing fine now and we are awaiting the good news,” says Leah.
Suki is not the only success story of this amazing new venture by ‘Dogs & More’. There are more applications heading their way on a daily basis. Due to years of hard work and trust put in them, Mrs. Contractor and team are able to bring forward beautifully innovative ideas that help not only the cute little balls of sunshine, but also their families. When asked about what the future holds for this venture, Mrs. Contractor said, “A big happy family of dog lovers and pet parents!We want it to be a platform where any pet parent can visit and find a mate for their little one.”
