Pet sitting emerges as a growing side hustle for Chennaiites

Vasudevan, a full-time illustrator from Alwarpet, has not travelled outside the city for a decade, and there is only one reason why – and it is furry. He is a pet parent to three dogs and seven cats and also cares for six other animals on the street. Unable to find a reliable pet sitter or a comfortable boarding option for his pets, he eventually decided to become a pet sitter himself. He has now been doing this in Chennai for a year and has received advance bookings as far ahead as May and June.

“I pet-sit for anything from two hours to multiple days within Chennai; whatever the need, I fill in. During Pongal, I was away from home for seven days, pet-sitting, while my partner took care of our pets at home,” he says. Mr. Vasudevan makes it a point to meet the pets before the actual gig so they feel comfortable and familiar with him. “Whatever the owner does when they are at home, I do exactly the same thing,” he says.