New Westie helps animals in Hyderabad

Editor’s note: there is a portion of this article that mentions an animal in distress.

Multiple planes, multiple travel days, and a trip of a lifetime have given one local business owner the opportunity to give back—this time outside of New Westminster.

Karima Jivraj, who owns the Bosley’s by Pet Valu location in Columbia Square, says her January trip to Hyderabad, India, came with many opportunities to learn more about the animal welfare industry, and how it functions on the other side of the world.

“There was a pet industry trade show there, and there was a trade mission. This basically means that we would go and see what opportunities there are for our Canadian pet producers—whether it’s pet food, pet products, pet treats, whatever—and the opportunity came up with the [Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada (PIJAC)] office in Ottawa.”

Jivraj, who had never been to India before, said she wanted to go with one of her PIJAC Canada colleagues, who she figured could use a translator.

“Then I thought, ‘You know, I’m going for a pet industry trade show. Animal welfare is something that I am passionate about.’ I wanted to go and see what animal welfare is about in India: what worked, what didn’t,” she tells The Anchor. “I just wanted to understand. Not from an, ‘I’m Canadian and I know better [point of view].’ That is not what it was about. It was about, ‘What can you tell me about animal welfare from your point of view?’”

As the trip dates inched closer, Jivraj realized she had more luggage allotment than she knew what to do with. That’s when she decided to pack the 96 kg worth of suitcases with an array of donations: leashes, cooling jackets, rain jackets, collars, after-surgery collars, harnesses, and dog toys—to name a few. Many of the donations came from fellow franchise owners, as well as local vendors, the New West Animal Shelter, and customers. Jivraj’s business, along with Columbia Square Animal Hospital and PIJAC each donated $150.

“I did have some grooming stuff. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it there: Air Canada made me open up my suitcases and pull some stuff out,” she explains with a chuckle. “I was not expecting as [many donations] as I did. I thought maybe I’d have half a suitcase, no big deal. No—I had an entire suitcase, plus the box, plus a little bit in my own suitcase.”

And while it was a ton of stuff to take on a 20-hour-plus journey (which was not direct, by the way) Jivraj was determined to get everything there.

‘I was overwhelmed … with how much the generosity was’

Jivraj’s experiences were on both sides of the coin: she recalls one instance in which she watched a veterinarian care for a puppy after it had been hit by a vehicle.

“That puppy … its spine was completely broken. And it had come in 15 minutes, 20 minutes before I had come into the shelter,” explains Jivraj, who noted that the animal was yelping in so much pain that the most humane thing to do was euthanize. “There was no way to save this puppy.”

While heartbreaking on any given day, this hit home for Jivraj, who recently lost her 20-year-old cat, Oscar. Jivraj has said previously it was Oscar who inspired her to get into the pet care business.

“Normally I would have stayed to help her … but I’m still not quite over [Oscar’s] death just yet,” she notes.

But there were also moments of celebration: the donations that travelled with her were split between three shelters—and Jivraj is extremely grateful to the community for helping with the effort.

“I was overwhelmed with how much the generosity was. I was overwhelmed with people being excited that I was going to do this. It was amazing to see the look on the faces of all of these people that work [in Hyderabad] … and that to me says it all, that little thing you do.”

And while she’s back in New West, she admits she’s fallen in love with India—so much so that the theme of her next fundraiser, happening just in time to mark the store’s 12th anniversary, will be Bollywood-themed. It’s taking place from 11am to 3pm on March 11.

“My goal is to have some Indian street food, a Bollywood DJ, I brought outfits from India for my staff.”

Tickets will be $25 each with $10 from each going towards the New Westminster Animal Shelter. If you’d like to reserve a ticket, you can email [email protected].