Fur, paws and a place for your pets
Gedu, Alex, Coco, Miku and Pluto are guests of a 5-star hotel in Dhaka. They are staying there like VIPs. In front of their VIP suites, there’s a menu of their meals for the day along with health care tips. In this hotel, they are eating, sleeping... and even fighting at times! But they are not people. They are the guest cats and dogs in Furryghor.
Manshib Rahman, a 10th grader, used to take injured cats and dogs home to tend to them. After they recovered, he would give them up for adoption. Manshib’s parents were not happy with that and so they sent him to stay at a hostel so he won’t bring home any more animals. But that somehow ended up being an even better opportunity for him, as now he is independent and works as a volunteer in Furryghor and Pat a Pet Café under PAW foundation. He spends most of his time there helping take care of cats and dogs. He recently rescued a cat with another volunteer Tahsin Arnob from Banani. They later named the cat Banani. Cute, right?
If you have a pet and planning to go somewhere with your family, either someone has to stay home to take care of them, or you have to give your loving pet in another person’s care. But can they always ensure your pet’s safety? Here comes your hero ‘’Furryghor’’ to take the responsibility of your pet. Furryghor is a 5-star hotel for your furry babies, where you can keep your pets safe and healthy when you are away. Not only can you hang out with the rescued cats with their partner business “Pat a Pet Café” but you can also bring your pets there with you. As pet parents can’t go to any cafés with their pets, it’s the best place for them. Right after entering there on 21 December, Pluto, a guest dog, was jumping around out of excitement because he was about to go on a walk. That shows how friendly the environment is there for pets.
Furryghor was launched on 22 February 2022 in Mirpur, Dhaka. With three rooms for dogs and 14 glass-walled cabins for cats, Furryghor is the only place people can think of when it’s about their pet’s safety while they are away. Behind this great idea, there’s architect and founder of PAW foundation Rakibul Haq Emil, architect and animal rights activist Nuzhat Nabila and famous digital marketer Khalid Farhan. During long vacation periods this place stays fully booked. Furryghor is the first ever pet hotel in Bangladesh, a country where some narrow-minded people don’t think twice before commenting that, “Animals are unholy and dirty,” “Black cats are unlucky,” “Why are you busy caring about animals when there are thousands of poor people?” They forget that animals have lives too. Furryghor is going to hit the jackpot soon, despite these people.
The feature that makes Furryghor different from other boarding facilities is the provision of separate living spaces for each pet. Right now, there are a total of 3 guest dogs, 19 guest cats and 8 rescued cats. The dogs get really excited every evening when they are about to go on a walk on the rooftop. There are full time caregivers to take care of the pets. The most important thing is that your pet will be having a comfortable place to stay. This 1800 square feet place has air conditioning, litter facilities, CCTV surveillance, fire safety and regular update for pet parents. They charge Tk 500 for a cat and Tk 1,500 for a dog every 24 hours. However, if someone keeps their pets for a longer time, the price will be reduced.
Right below the hotel, there’s ‘’Paw Life Care” clinic to take care of your pets if they are sick. Manshib works as a vet assistant there too. And right beside that, there’s a shop to buy necessary things for cats and dogs. To book a room for your pet, a vaccination card is a must to promote awareness about vaccinations. Various precautions are being followed, including keeping a photocopy of the NID card of the owner and keeping an emergency contact number.
The volunteer of Furryghor Manshib Rahman told Prothom Alo (English), “Before coming here, I wasn’t introduced with many people who love animals. But now, it feels great whenever I remember that I'm working with a bunch of people who are just like me, think like me and even feel like me. While working here, I got to learn many procedures, such as how to take better care of animals and how to treat them if they get hurt. I can proudly say that I love what I am doing and never feel mentally tired at all.”
Many visitors think that Furryghor and Pat a Pet Café is the same thing. But these two businesses are different, though at the same time together for the same reason: to give animals the highest standard of care that they deserve. While Furryghor’s hotel section is restricted for safety reasons, visitors can eat and play with the rescued cats in the Pat a Pet Café. The walls of the café are beautifully decorated with the all-time popular meme buzzwords like henlo, purr and bork.
As many visitors just go there to take pictures, the café isn’t doing that well till now even though their food is absolutely tasty. Their menu clearly shows that they don’t promote animal cruelty at all. When kids ask for their favourite food chicken; they offer the kids with much tastier food that doesn’t kill any animal. This café started in July 2022 by founders Saria Saguaro, Dr. Farzana Alam Shampa and Rakibul Haq Emil, to offer treats for your pets. But now you can get food for yourself too. They are also launching many types of cool drinks. On Thursdays and Fridays, you will get to listen to live songs as well. When their amazing singer Innima Roshni sings, rescued cats Banani and Moti sleep beside her while Hitler struts around the whole place like a super model. They take care of the rescued cats just like they treat their guest pets.
Nowadays, a lot of the younger generation display their love for animals. “Are you a cat person or a dog person?” is a question that almost all kids ask when they are making a new friend. Kids are bringing their parents to the café so that they can reduce their fear about animals. Students spend their time their chatting with friends and petting a cat who is lying under the sun.
When asked about the future plans, the common partner of Furryghor and Pat a Pet Café, Rakibul Haq Emil, said, “In future we are thinking about arranging a pet cemetery. While pets are alive people treat them like their own children but when they die, they mostly throw their bodies in the garbage. That hurts a lot. Especially for the pet parent.”
This amazing place is located in Mirpur Zoo Road, Plot 80, Block A. Visit to have a pawsitive time with paws. Hurry up because Hitler is waiting for you to come and play.
* Rumaiysa M. Rahman is a 11th grader who loves animals, taekwondo and Korean culture