B-Town’s pet parents gear up for a ‘paw-erful’ summer

By Durga Chakravarty

New Delhi, March 1

Ever imagined wearing a faux fur coat on a hot summer afternoon? Unthinkable, right? Now just spare a thought for your four-legged buddies in the time of the soaring mercury.

Bollywood celebrities maybe juggling between their erratic work schedules but they surely don’t forget their furry friends during the hot season, and make sure to take good care of them despite their busy lives.

Heartthrob hunk John Abraham, who is an ardent animal lover, has two furry babies, Sia and Bailey. He makes sure that his pets have cold water and a comfortable place to hangout.

“Think about how hot it gets and now imagine being covered in fur like dogs! Not fun. When summer temperatures soar, I make sure my beloved Bailey and Sia always have fresh, clean water and a cool, shaded place to hangout in to prevent heatstroke,” John told IANS.

Bailey and Sia are stars too, just like “daddy” John. The two have an Instagram profile with a fan following of 15.2K. Their bio reads: “Hi, I’m Bailey and this is my baby girl Sia! I was adopted by my awesome parents and we all live together”.

Raveena Tandon-Thadani has often treated her fans with photographs of her cute Pomeranian named Lucifer on Instagram. The actress has even made a profile Lucifer on the photo-sharing website to give everyone an insight to her puppy’s life.

Lucifer enjoys a fan following of over 1K fans on the social media website. Raveena, who is all set to make her comeback in films with “KGF: Chapter 2”, just not thinks about Lucifer well-being but also other stray animals.

“I know that my companion dog Luficer’s resting body temperature is already higher than humans’, so it’s crucial that I give him plenty of water and a cool place to hang out when it’s hot. And to protect community dogs from deadly heatstroke, I put out clean, fresh bowls of water in my neighbourhood,” Raveena told IANS.

Sunny Leone, who recently joined hands with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA) for new campaign against the use of animal skin, stresses that it is important to keep companion canines cool and also to look out for strays.

Sunny told IANS: “When the weather is blazing outside, I walk my baby Lilu on grass and in shaded areas. The ground can get so hot that it burns dogs’ paws and heatstroke claims countless dogs’ lives every year. Any overheated dog can sustain brain damage and even die within minutes, so it’s important to keep your companion canines cool and to look out for strays.”

Twinkle toes Madhuri Dixit Nene, an ardent animal, adopted a stray pup and named him Carmella. The puppy was adopted on her son Arin’s birthday on March 17 last year.

Madhuri urged to not leave pets unattended in cars. “Would never leave my babies or Carmello in a closed car in the summer. Animals and people overheat easily. Please do everyone a favour and don’t leave your loved ones unattended in a closed car,” Madhuri told IANS.

Actress Richa Chaddha has always campaigned for “adopt and not shop” for pets. Her social media is full of her ‘catty’ companion Jugni and other animals. She stresses about putting up shelters for community dogs so that they have shade during the hot afternoons.

“My summer rule: If the ground is too hot for my feet, then it’s definitely too hot for dogs, too. Hot pavement can burn the skin right off of dogs’ paws. It’s important to put up a shelter for community dogs so they have shade,” Richa told IANS.

Sachin Bangera, director of Celebrity and Public Relations, PETA India, emphasised that dogs can die from heatstroke in just 15 minutes and that “if one sees a dog suffering, do something!”

Here’s to making summer ‘paw’ friendly!