Of all the things you can do while self-quarantining and social distancing, adopting a pet might be the ‘goodest’ of them all. “We’ve read so many stories about people who got pets during the lockdown because they needed companionship, and now the pets are their life,” says comedian Sahil Shah. As proud pet parents to Bagel and co-founders of the most wholesome Instagram community, Goodest Boys of Bombay, Shah and his partner Meghana Bhogle noticed an influx of DMs about rescuing, adoption and care-giving during the lockdown.
Shah says, “Meghana and I realised that there’s a lot of information we can provide. And, not only that, Meghana has a ton of experience with dogs; I am a newbie but she has had three generations of Boxers. She’s had cats…”
“I’m a crazy animal woman!” Bhogle interjects and laughs. So, ahead of the two-year anniversary of their pet project, Shah and Bhogle are launching the Goodest Boys Pawedcast to break down every stage of getting a pet for potential pawrents (as pet parents are better known on Goodest Boys).
A video podcast on the Goodest Boys Instagram page, the Pawedcast follows the journey of first-time pet owners—right from deciding to adopt and bringing their pupper home, to nutrition and feeding, as well as travelling with pets. The #AdoptDontShop movement is also quite a large part of the podcast because, as Bhogle says, “we really, really want to support the fostering and adoption of indies that need homes through this.”
As a former pedigree dog owner herself, Bhogle realises that pledging allegiance to the adoption movement is a process. “If you genuinely believe in the cause, if you want an animal at home, it shouldn’t matter whether it’s pedigreed or whether it’s an indie,” she affirms. Even if you want a pedigree dog, she says, you don’t have to go to a breeder; turn to your local shelter which, in turn, will help get more dogs off the streets.
The podcast, then, is a medium to educate, inform and to make a difference. Bhogle reiterates, “If we can just make sure that there are fewer animals on the street because of the stuff that we’re doing that would be the best thing to come out of this.” [P’awww, you guys.]
If this is the sign you’ve been waiting for before heading to the animal shelter, the podcast releases on 13 August, 2020 on Instagram, and episode one focuses on the right time to adopt. With hopefully-weekly releases, episode two is everything you need to know about the #AdoptDontShop movement. In addition to their own lived experiences, Bhogle and Shah want to make sure you get credible information from their Pawedcast. Bhogle explains: “Some people might treat it as just a fun piece of content, but some people will take it seriously.”
The couple is reaching out to organisations like World For All and running the content by them, before packaging and putting this information out there for the greater good. “It’s base-level foundation of actual information, married with our perspective of being pet parents,” Bhogle says, giving us the pawfect elevator pitch for the podcast. We’re ready. Are you?
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