Waffle was just a puppy when he got his first taste of the outdoor life. Within a few days of arriving at Jarna Gandhi's home, he was taken to a coffee shop because his owner didn't want to leave him alone at home. As he grew up, Gandhi decided to enrich his experiences. To compensate for being unable to take him out for his daily walk at Shivaji Park, she takes him to places like Barrio in Andheri, Bagel Shop in Bandra and a perennial favourite, Gostana. "There are a couple of places we frequent just because they are pet friendly. He is very well behaved but I usually tie him up. At Gostana, they insist that there's no need to tie him and that he can roam around freely," she says.
Gostana was possibly the first or rather the most popular place to turn pet friendly in Mumbai. Arpana Gvalani's cafe serves healthy food for people and (if you call and inform them in advance) their pets. An added bonus is the now-famous resident—her pet Labrador, Apple. A little farther away on Pali Mala road is The Bagel Shop with a shaded outdoor area, providing equal comfort to both the pet and his/her parent.
Recently, Andheri's Woodside All Day Bar & Eatery made their outdoor area open for pets, the only restriction being that you can get your pet there between 11.30am to 5.30pm but only between Monday to Friday. They don't even mind if you carry pet food along to feed the pets. "My partner and I love dogs. There are hardly any pet-friendly places, especially in Andheri. We have a lot of space so we thought, why not open it up to entertaining pets," says Pankil Shah, the owner. In the future, Shah says, they are looking at exploring pet food and conducting events for pets.
The dearth of places to take a pet to led sisters Bhakti and Trupti to start Mutt Hut in Mumbai. The pop-up pet cafe organises events (read: pooch parties) for animals and their owners at various places in the city—Loca Loca at Khar, Otto Infinito at BKC and WTF! at Andheri. Bhakti Bhukhanwala has a pug called Bandit whom she takes along everywhere. "When we got him five years back, we did not know of any pet-friendly place. It was an experiment. We would carry him along with us and if the place raised an objection, we would leave," she says. The sisters usually frequent Bagel Shop, Gostana, Moshe's and Cafe Zoe. Bhakti believes that most places don't allow pets because there are many pet owners who aren't responsible parents. "We make sure Bandit is always on a leash and behaves himself so that we can all have a good time."
Pranita Balar, a canine trainer, has taken many a pet parent and their canines on outings to Gostana, Bagel Shop, Woodside, Barrio and Fellas Cafe. "I take them there to socialise the pets with people and other dogs and also to teach pet parents how to keep them calm so everyone can enjoy the outing," she says. The founder of Bark n Bond, Bala loves taking pets out to every possible restaurant that welcomes them because they "light up the environment".
The upcoming Pune brewery, Doolally, is rumoured to be pet friendly; its Pune outlet welcomes pets.
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