Raining cats and dogs: When Delhi hosted country’s biggest pet festival

The event became a gathering point for some 2,500 pets   and around 25,000 pet lovers from across Delhi. The dog breeds on display ranged from the common (the Golden Retriever and Beagle) to  the exotic (Akita) .  

Pet Fed, which was in its third edition this year, was curated to celebrate the love people have for animals. The event was conceptualised by entrepreneur Akshay Gupta, an alumnus of Delhi University, when he was 22, with the sole purpose of providing pet owners with a new and exciting experience. According to Gupta, there were no recreation possibilities for those who love animals in this city. So, he thought of an event for every animal lover. Pet Fed was curated to fill this very gap in the market.

On this occasion, Akshay Gupta said, “We are extremely elated to have successfully completed our biggest edition of Pet Fed so far. The enthusiasm of all pet parents and lovers was tremendous and the footfall exceeded our expectations with more than 25,000 people and 2,500 pets.”

The two-day event took place on a patch of land three acres in area, with a large stretch of off-leash zone for pets. These zones were equipped with dog swings and rides, pet bakeries and much more. Another major highlight was a special art gallery scientifically curated for dogs where pets had to recognise the patterns and a one-of-a-kind doggy café could also be seen that was created in partnership with Puppychino, which served doggy beer, doggy pizza. 

In the midst of live music and comic performances, multiple artists from across the country had specifically been invited to keep the visitors entertained along with their pets. Besides, there was a competition organised by the Guiness Book of World Records for pets donning the most number of bandannas.

Also, for kids, book-reading, painting and many other fun activities were conducted. Not to forget, Ped Fed is not only about dogs, it also has a dedicated cat zone.

Pet Fed was curated to celebrate the love people have for animals. The entire concept of Pet Fed was started by entrepreneur Akshay Gupta, an alumnus of Delhi University, when he was only 22, with the sole purpose of providing pet owners with a new and exciting experience. According to Gupta, there was no recreation possibilities for those who love animals in this city. So, he thought of an event for every animal lover. Pet Fed was curated to fill this very gap in the market. 

With all the fun and entertainment, the fest acknowledged the hard work of the pet industry count, through a special awards night, where all the new ideas in the pet space were recognised. And a part of the revenue from the festival, it was said, would be donated to NGOs working for stray animals.

The event that turned out to be a grand success at the festival was the fashion show for pets which had Dino Morea as its showstopper. The fashion icon and actor who himself is an avid supporter and lover of pets walked the ramp with the dog who had won the Pet Fed contest on its Facebook page.  The associated actor, said, “Pet Fed 2016 was an amazing experience, seeing so many pets and happy pet parents just filled me with joy. Pet Fed is by far one of the best festivals I have been to and we hope to bring this festival to every city in the future.”

The event gave a big platform for pets to explore new friends. Talking about the event, Anusha Nair who had a beagle visiting the Pet fed said, “It is a great place to visit and have a fun day with your pet. Being a pet lover, I love when my pet meets other pets. I took my pet, Tuffy here so that he could make new friends and explore things like he had never experienced before. I wanted to have a fun Sunday afternoon with my pet and let him enjoy as much as he can. Pet fed is a great platform to meet people with similar interests and show your love for pets. It has everything a pet lover would want — a complete package!”

Another visitor, Manjeet Rana said, “I was eagerly waiting for this event to spend a whole day with pet Hachiko. We are getting so many opportunities to entertain our pets on such festivals. Here, we are interacting with lot of people and getting more knowledge about to take care of our pets. Hachiko also won in food eating contest. It’s a great suggestion to people who wants to adopt pets.”

Not only this, for many visitors, it was not only about their pets but also about their pet’s talent which was explored here. Shreya Sharma who loves dogs said, “Because I’m a dog lover, a pet festival seems to be a perfect weekend get-away. Dogs get a perfect environment here. They get familiar with other dogs as well as get love from people all around. Furthermore, pet owners discuss healthy lifestyle for their pets. The pet friendly activities provide them with best of the time to spend.”

As the event culminated after a long, tiring day for both visitors and pets, Gupta concluded, “This year has been overwhelming. With Dino [Morea] on-board, we aim to target three cities in 2017 namely Delhi again, Mumbai and Bengaluru.”