How's Stella doing?

We're absolutely crazy about Stella and at home we made sure she had the best of everything. An amazing vet, super high quality food, plenty of time at the local dog park, a fabulous (and overpriced) boarding facility where we could watch her via webcam, and trips to the beach/forest/anywhere-we-could-take-her. She really is our princess -- and yeah, we're those people.

I have had a series of heart palpitating experiences with her, including an absolute tick infestation after picking her up from a (highly recommended) boarding facility, run-ins with bad mannered children (and adults) who think hitting, kicking, or tugging on fur are acceptable ways to interact with a new canine "friend", several failed attempts to introduce a new food (yes, I was titrating), paw pad issues, and a total lack of nearby, fenced-in, dog-friendly green space. 

It's been a frustrating sequence of trial and error but that being said, we have carved out the closest semblance to normalcy here and have found some great resources. With the increasing number of dog owners coming to Pune and knowing the stress that comes with relocating a dog, I thought it'd be helpful to make a short list of the primary ones we use. There are a bunch of different places in town, and some of them are really good; these are just the ones we tend to use over and over. I recommend looking around once you've got the basics covered, because I'm always finding something new here to recommend!

If you are interested in seeing how we did the actual relocation for Stella, please look at my older posts here, here, and here! We used Furry Flyers to help us with the documentation needed for importation. 

• Veterinarian  - Dr. Bharath, 5th Sense Animal Clinic, +918007786205. He is in Baner, about 40 minutes from Koregaon Park/Kalyani Nagar area. He's been treating Stella since we moved here, and completed her arrival paperwork. Don't forget that you need to have a vet do final documentation about a month after you get here. Here's their Facebook page.  
  
• Dog Food -  Pet Paradise, East Street, Shop A35, Virwani Plaza, Camp, +91 02030422627.  They have Arden Grange, a UK brand of grain-free dry food, and are happy to deliver it to your home or hotel. Stella had been eating Taste of the Wild before we moved, but the amount we had air shipped didn't last very long and the distributor I found for it never seems to have it in stock, so we started trying to introduce a new food here. Thanks to the recommendation of a fellow dog owner (thanks Claudia!), we found this. It's Rs. 900 (~$15.00) for a 2kg bag. 
• Groomers - Wag n Wash, Lane 5, near Tertullia, Koregaon Park +91 099 23355662. This salon is run very professionally, and Stella always looks great when I pick her up. A wash and cut for her usually runs around Rs. 1300 ($20.00). 
• Boarding - we're still looking. She's had some bad experiences, so the verdict is out.

I have found that the best recommendations I get are from fellow expats, so if you are looking for something, speak up, ask around!! Chances are that someone knows someone who knows or knows someone else ;-)