Valentine’s, a day to also celebrate furry friends

Valentine’s Day can be so much more than an opportunity to celebrate your significant other

Valentine’s Day can be so much more than an opportunity to celebrate your significant other. A day of love, it can also be an occasion to celebrate our most loyal friends—our pets.

Mili, a stray, enjoying at a pet party hosted by her owner Supriya Srivastava (Sourced)

Dog shelter showers love on strays and rescues

At a dog shelter, Nawabi Tails, in the city, five of its employees were busy making grand plans for the 60 dogs that live there. “We are getting a big cake; we will be decorating the shelter with balloons and toys. We are also getting caps and treats for all the kids,” said Vishakha Shukla, its founder. The shelter celebrates Valentine’s Day every year with strays and the rescued. “We only have rescue animals at our shelter and like to celebrate the day with them because they deserve it as well. The kind of loyalty and companionship that one gets from animals is something that you will never get from any human. Since the day is all about love and celebrating companionship, why not celebrate it with those who give their entire lives to us?” Shukla added.

Pet parties on Valentine’s Day

Supriya Srivastava celebrates Valentine’s Day with her adopted strays and invites over other pet owners with their pooches too. “Yes, of course, I celebrate Valentine’s Day with them. It is a day of love!” said Srivastava. Every year, she arranges red caps and red balloons for the occasion. “I also give return gifts like red collars and such.”

She had four pets but lost one last November. The three dogs who live with her are named Mili, Meethi and Motu. Supriya also feeds 60-70 strays every year and gets them vaccinated on a regular basis. This year, Srivastava and her pets will only celebrate the occasion in spirit rather than hosting a pet party as she lost her mother-in-law only a month-and-half ago.

Part and parcel of every family tradition

Gucci and Sikander, one a golden retriever and the other a ‘desi’ stray, both adopted, have been part of every family celebration, including Valentine’s Day, of the Khannas. “Pets give all their lives to us, but we are just too busy in our social lives. Thanks to Covid and staying at home, I have realised that it is much more worthwhile to spend my time with them. At least, they are true to their feelings,” said Pranati Khanna. “It is a very safe and happy zone to be around them.”

Both Gucci and Sikander are 9. Sikander, with the rest of his litter, was adopted first, but was the only one to survive after vaccination. Gucci was about 6 months old when the Khannas adopted him. “We are a family of 6, and all of our lives revolve around them,” she said. The dogs are important members on all occasions, from birthdays to Diwali, from Navratri and small pujas to Valentine’s Day, too.”