New Best Friend: How bonding with animal pals brought Mumbaikars joy and comfort in the pandemic

Tushar Sawant`s cat Juno, Jonathan Immanuel`s dog Molly and Kaustubh`s cat Inji. Photo: Tushar Sawant, Jonathan Immanuel, Kaustubh

The Covid-19 pandemic helped 29-year-old Jonathan Immanuel and his wife find a friend in their newest family member who has been keeping them busy. It has only been three months since the city-based couple adopted their dog Molly after a brief fostering period. "The week after we gave her away felt really weird and empty for us and that is why we decided to adopt her for good," explains Immanuel.

Every year, the world celebrates International Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August. Most friends have been socially distanced from each other in the last one year or have been meeting virtually or less frequently than usual. Going out on long drives and chai sessions at the local adda have all been replaced with Netflix Watch Parties. While the crucial element of human touch is missing, many people have found joy and comfort in finding and bonding with animal pals over the last one year.

Immanuel and his wife are among many others in the city who have adopted furry companions in the last one year. Mid-day spoke to three Mumbaikars to understand why they took to raising pets, how it helped them during the pandemic, and what they think about this new kind of friendship.

The pandemic encouraged Immanuel to do what he has always wanted to do - adopt a dog. It was a luxury he didn't have before, not only because of family restrictions but also working at the office the whole day. The pandemic-induced work-from-home situation gave his wife Nitija and him enough time to see if they could take care of a dog. "Our initial idea wasn't to adopt a dog but after the second wave, when we realised work-from-home would continue, we decided to foster a dog for two months to see if we could manage it," says the 29-year-old city-based media professional.

The city-based couple adopted Molly from a foster home and went according to the plan and returned her to foster care after two months but it didn't take long for them to change their mind and bring her home. Molly has been a part of their family since May and fits perfectly into the scheme of things for the couple, who don't consider themselves as social as many others in the city.

It was no different for Malad-based Kaustubh, who says it was only a matter of time before he adopted a cat himself, as he had been cat-sitting for his friends for long. "The pandemic gave me the opportunity to tell my family that we could try to adopt a cat, as all of us were at home, and we could take care of our cat," explains the 29-year-old content writer. He adopted his cat from city-based NGO World For All a little over six months ago and she has been with them ever since. He has named her Inji (meaning ginger in Tamil). "Everyone is occupied with her around as she loves affection in different ways. It worked out in all the ways I would imagine it. The mood of the house has changed because of her," he adds

The lack of human contact beyond the house doesn't bother the family anymore because Inji always entertains them and keeps them guessing what she will do next. The cat has even converted his mother, who initially wanted to limit the cat's movements to Kaustubh's room, into a pet lover. She has now learned to adjust to the new member in the house and the nine-month-old is welcome everywhere as the doors are left open, and she even spends time carrying her around often.

Elsewhere in the city, Tushar Sawant has also added a new member to his house only a few months ago. Sawant and his wife adopted a kitten, whom they now call Juno, after a friend found him abandoned. "We adopted Juno two months ago and he has been with us since then. He keeps us so busy as my wife and I have to attend to him all the time. We don't really have the time to go out and it is a lot of fun having him around," says Sawant.

Juno's presence has been a blessing in disguise for the couple, who had to deal with the death of their cat due to a medical condition in the middle of a pandemic. Sawant's affinity towards animals comes from the fact that he had a pet dog for 12 years when he was in school, followed by a cat Misu now in his parent's home. The presence of the new cat came at the right time for the couple. However, he is worried about the time when they have to return to work because they will not be there with him to take care of him, as Juno has clearly become an important part of their house.

Also Read: How to sustain and nurture friendships remotely in the Covid-era