Pet care and grooming professionals

While the pet healthcare and food industries are growing steadily behind the scenes, pet grooming salons or parlours have become increasingly visible in the countrys metropolitan cities For the countrys growing number of animal rights activists and household pet lovers, new opportunities have emerged to combine their pleasure — love of pet animals — with business. According to Euromonitor Inter-national, a London-based transnational market research agency, the population of pet dogs and cats in India numbered almost 9 million in 2010, a number that is expected to grow considerably in the near future. Consequently a host of vocations and professions have begun to take wing in the fledgling but promising pet healthcare and grooming businesses. The estimated revenue of the Indian pet foods, healthcare and grooming industry will rise to Rs.1,160 crore by 2015. While the pet healthcare and food industries are growing steadily behind the scenes, pet grooming salons or parlours have become increasingly visible in the countrys metros, esp-ecially Delhi and Mumbai. The multiplying number of pet salons in the metros and tier I cities has opened up oppor-tunities for a high-potential career choice for animal lovers. Pet grooming services are mostly availed for dogs, especially long-haired breeds, and can include basic services such as bathing, hair drying, eye cleaning, teeth brushing, nail care and hair trimming or complex hair styles such as the ‘lion cut, the ‘teddy bear cut, the ‘lamb cut, etc. Additional services include manicures, herbal hair colouring, dematting, deshedding, anti-tick treatments, hydro cleaning and nail painting, perfuming, aromatherapy and massage. Proficient groomers are expected to offer both routine and show grooming services, for pet and show dogs respectively, and to be able to cater to felines. People are now more open to spending on their pets due to increased education and exposure, and pets are now regarded as members of the family and not just guards of home spaces, says Sanjeev Kumar, the countrys premier pet care entrepreneur. Kumar gave up his career with HDFC Bank in 2005 to pursue his passion for pet grooming and was joined by his teacher wife, Preeti. He promotes his pet care business under the name of Scoopy Scrub and owns seven salons in Delhi, and has licensed three franchisees in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Pune. A mere love of animals though, is not enough to make a career in pet grooming. A diploma programme will facilitate entry into pet salons and also empower aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own salons or businesses. Until recently, Indian pet care professionals were obliged to travel overseas to acquire certified qualifications — mainly to Singapore which is a more budget-friendly option, compared with pet care academies in Europe or the US. However, now several pet lovers and entrepreneurs have promoted training schools in India. Among them: Fuzzy Wuzzy Pet Grooming School and the Shevar Grooming School, Bangalore; Whiskers & Tails, Mumbai; and Scoopy Scrub, New Delhi, which offer basic and advanced pet grooming diploma programmes of 20-60 days duration. Advanced courses instruct…