Perils of Being a LAZY DOG

PAMPERED PET DOGS ARE ACQUIRING THE SAME LIFESTYLE DISEASES AS THEIR HUMAN PARENTS AND GETTING THE SAME MEDICAL CARE, FEEDING A WHOLE INDUSTRY AROUND SUPER-SPECIALISED PET SURGERIES AND TREATMENTS

- SONALI ACHARJEE

TEN-YEAR-OLD MAX, A GERMAN SHEPHERD, LOVES TO GO FOR LONG WALKS with his owner Divya Kamat, 41, on the Juhu Beach in Mumbai. But inside Max lies a secret. His pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood to his lungs, has a stent. Just like in humans, canine stents keep narrowing arteries open enough to allow sufficient flow of blood. Only a decade ago, heart disease among dogs was unheard of. But as pet owners increasingly pamper their pets, treating them like children and lavishing them with processed food and designer living spaces, dogs like Max are increasingly falling prey to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and heart ailments. And their owners are sparing no money or effort to get them the same treatments as themselves, which a large number of vet hospitals in metropolitan cities are now offering.

As of 2024, India has around 31 million pet dogs-a steep rise from around 20 million in 2018, according to Statista, a global data company. The rise in the number of pets has fuelled a corresponding rise in the pet-care industry. Though estimates on the overall size vary, just the Indian dog food market exploded to reach $2.4 billion (Rs 20,156 crore) in 2022, according to the IMARC Group. The diet and lifestyle of canines has shifted in the past 10-15 years, says Dr Kunal Sharma, managing veterinary surgeon at Max Petz, a national chain of pet hospitals. And with it have come new health challenges in pets.

According to a 2021 article in the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 5.5 per cent of dogs in India have diabetes. Another 2022 study in The Pharma Innovation Journal noted that overweight dogs comprise 15-65 per cent of various canine populations across the world. Diabetes and obesity, say vets, lead to another range of diseases, from kidney failure, fatty liver to cardiovascular conditions.