Have you ever wanted to take your dog to the veterinarian or to a park and found yourself unable to get an auto or taxi because nobody wants to transport an animal in their vehicle?
Meet Kamal Banger and Jayshree Ramesh, who are happy to help, whether it’s with a ride to the vet for vaccinations or to that lovely park a bit too far from your house or with just a nice drive that you think your dog deserves.
The Wagging Tails cab service, launched on Sunday, is nowhere to provide transport for dogs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. “The idea of starting a cab for dogs has been there for a long time; but after one of their team member could not find a vet, and could not get a vehicle from Semmenchery to take her dog to a clinic when he was sick on March 6, 2015 — that’s when we finally decided that we should start this service,” said Jayshree, a fellow team member in Hearty Paws - an initiative created by 10 women to help abandoned and abused pets.
She added, “There are no private vets available 24x7, and then the only option available is a government hospital which is often very far.”
While a lot of hospitals offer a pick-up and drop facility, said Jayshree, they found that often the service was unable when it was needed. “It was also costing us a lot. We thought, ‘Why not do it ourselves?’”
Kamal has begun the cab service with her own cars and hopes to increase the fleet as the business grows.
“Whenever a dog owner needs a vehicle they just need to give us a call and we will help. They can call either Kamal or me, and we decide who will take their cars and go,” said Jayshree.
They prefer that owners accompany the dogs. “The owners should come along at least once or twice. After the pets get used to us, it is fine. Old dogs can be very finicky as they are very attached to their owners,” said Jayshree.
Asked about the response from people, she said, “We started this cab service on Sunday, and we are getting many calls to congratulate us, to find out the prices and how it works. We have about five bookings till Thursday.”
The cost of the cab service is nominal. It will be priced alongside regular cabs, and will cost about Rs. 12 per kilometre for AC cabs.
Asked about the roadblocks they are likely to face, they respond, “It is difficult to make people pay for car maintenance when the dog dirties the car. Another problem is that if a dog is not accompanied by family members, it can become an issue.”
Kamal and Jayshree are also founders of an all women initiative called Hearty Paws, which works for the rescue and rehabilitation of dogs.
Pet owners can call Wagging Tails on 9003055606 or 9841022214 to book a cab.