“You train animals for a few months, and you have companions for a lifetime. They don’t change like humans,” said Devyani Jadhav, 34. In 2010, she established a pet relocation firm Pawsome, based in Hyderabad, which “strives to service pets and make their ‘PAWrents’ life easier”.

Devyani has relocated pets to 35 countries and has combined her passion for traveling and love for pets under her company. “We often joke among ourselves that we are living a dog’s life and these dogs are, in fact, living the life that we aspire for. I have traveled with the pets to Amsterdam, United States, Paris, Brussels and to Canada. I won’t give up this job for anything in the world,” she said.

Wanna know who is the CEO of Pawsome is? It is Jadhav’s dog Rex with whom she has lived and traveled with for 11 years. In a recent interview with VICE, she talked about how she got the idea to start a pet traveling firm and her adventures with the pets.

“Ever since I have had him, I have taken Rex everywhere, making jugaads with hotels and airlines, promising them payments for any potential damages. I often posted these photographs on Facebook. Someone requested me to help him relocate his dog “Gutthi” from Delhi to Hyderabad for around Rs. 3,000. I took the offer. He wrote a beautiful testimonial for us, and more requests began,” she recollected. “I am now the “Chief Pawrent” at Pawsome. We have people working for us in Bombay, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore, who we call “Territory Managers” or “Canine Officers”.”

Since she started Pawsome, apart from dogs, cats and horses, sometimes people request to transport animals like crabs, rabbits, and turtles. They’ll be even transporting zebras for a private zoo later this year.

“For a pet relocation request from Chennai to Chandigarh, a client kept insisting on a trained handler. Thinking that request was for a dog, I told him our entire staff is educated in pet behavior and adept at handling them. He replied that the animal might bite fingers or even attack eyes—“It’s a fighting cock, not a dog.” We refused, as we don’t have a permit to transfer cocks,” she shared.

“We carry things like wiper sheets, diapers, gloves, old clothes, blankets, chewable toys, and air fresheners. We ask the owners to give familiar objects like food bowls. We confirm from a vet whether or not the pet is fit to travel, and if it is friendly or unfriendly. If it is ferocious, we make arrangements accordingly,” she added.

She also shared that when it comes to relocating dogs it is easy but cats are “more reluctant travelers and prefer not being cuddled. They don’t like to go out of their area, and would often throw tantrums.”

So, why do services like Pawsome are needed? “It’s mostly people who are going abroad for jobs. Some countries have regulations to get pets tested from their approved labs, which can take upto 180 days. People obviously can’t tell their future employers: “I can’t join because I am waiting for my dog.” We often end up becoming friends with our clients and even living at their homes abroad,” she explained.

Pawsome works closely with airlines and has transported more than 200 pets abroad. As Jadhav owns the pets for days, she often gets attached to her new furry friends.

“Well, I once took a three-day train journey with a 17-year-old dog from Pune to Shillong. It was blind and deaf, and it was too risky to send it by air. The dog wanted to move around and in the process bumped its head at the cabin walls. I was worried that it would get a concussion. So, I made a helmet out of diapers. After a three day journey, we took a beautiful drive to Shillong. I recently got a call from its mother that it had died. She was grateful that it died at the place where it was born,” she said.

In her experience, most of the transfer requests come from Bangalore. “I think everyone loves their dogs. We have had clients transporting disabled dogs, picked up from the street, paying Rs. 7 lakhs to transfer them to Canada. I think once you have had a pet, you can’t ever live without a pet,” Devyani said.

H/T: Vice