TAUSEEF AHMAD
BANDIPORA, Nov 5: Hailing from the Madar area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, Shazia Khan established the first pet store in her home district.
After completing her Master’s Degree, Shazia Khan established the first pet store in Bandipora last year. “It was my hobby to take care of pets and I had an interest in domesticating cats, rabbits since my childhood, but it became tough for me to buy medicines, and food for these pets as these essentials were not available in general shops and stores in Bandipora ,” she added.
“Whenever I have to buy food or medicines for these pets I had to travel either Ganderbal or Srinagar or towards Baramulla but now I have established a pet store here in Bandipora. These days everyone has pets in their home but it becomes tough sometimes to obtain food and medicines. My aim is only to provide food for those who have pets in their homes and want to buy them for their interest.
“From my childhood days I was attached to pets and it was my hobby to take care of pets wherever I saw Dogs or cats wounded. I keep them home and give them first aid and it gives me relief. Now it has become a lucrative business for me as people come and buy pets from me, buy food for their pets as well,” added Shazia Khan while talking to Kashmir Despatch.
“In the first days, I was being trolled for raring pets and for my gender. But with the passage of time, things changed. Now I have customers who buy pets and food for their cats with me and I am earning well from it,’ she added.
Sometimes this mingled human cat family has to face harsh reactions from the neighbours. But, this love weighs more than blood relation—making them part of the family.
“My message is for unemployed youths especially girls as we did not have many opportunities for government jobs here. Instead of doing nothing in your homes, you can build your business in Poultry, Fish farming, dairy farming and other sectors as well.”
