CV1-I2-5-CASE STUDY

Passion to Profession: ‘Dog Loving’ to ‘Dog Farm’

A Case of Phoebe’s Farm Pvt Ltd

Vinod Sople , Jasmin Jha

Dr. Vinod Sople is Dean (Research) at ITM Group of Institution, Mumbai and

Ms. Jasmin Jha is Manager(Research) at ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

Manoor Sachdev did his schooling in Mussoorie and Pune in Military School.  He loved playing with dogs since young and went around stealing breads from the school mess to feed the wild dogs in the forest around the school. Even pointed out by teachers to feed wild and stray dogs is risky, he still went on doing the same. Slowly, this activity from playing with dogs converted into a passion and he started bringing dogs at home to give shelter. He says he can make any dog his friend within a short span of time.

According to Manoor like human beings, the dogs too have their own personalities and hence, dogs react differently, when they meet other dogs or even with human beings. He said you may come across dogs, who mix with other dogs and are friendly with human beings and on the other hand, some are quite aloof like ‘sanyasis’ they even don’t look at you, if you call them. You will come across dogs, who prefer to be within the four walls of the house, while on the opposite side other dogs want to be outside the four walls and guard the premises with constant vigil. Some are leaders and they ‘boss’ around and some would like to follow the leaders. Most dogs like to play with other dogs, when they are puppies but some exhibit maturity in behaviour, when they meet human beings. There are shy dogs too. They are timid and not too fond of rowdy dogs behaviour and often find them intimidating. Even though they are encouraged to join other dogs, their tail goes down as soon as any other dog tries to entice them in a game. These dogs normally engage in defensive behaviours, which makes them more fearful.

After Marriage with Anjali, Manoor adopted a dog named - Phoebe - and then the idea of dog farming struck in his mind.  Manoor is proud to say that ‘Phoebe’ is dogs shelter house rather than a puppy factory. With Phoebe, he started learning about the psychology of dogs and observing the characteristics of the dogs.  Slowly the NGOs started bringing the dogs, who needed shelter for injured or deserted ones, with the result the number of dogs increased at home.  There came a need for a bigger accommodation.  Searched for a house in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai in which 42 dogs were provided shelter and as the number increased Manoor had to search for a bigger space.  After hunting for a location found decent land on rent in Mangaon Budruk near Panvel (Mumbai-Pune highway) and this is how Phoebe’s Farm Pvt. Ltd. came into existence.  The farm accommodates 107 dogs, which includes stray dogs, Labradors, 2 bull calves, 5 rabbits, 1 donkey, 2 emus and several fishes.  An artificial man-made pond, in the farm, houses around 1000 fishes and turtles (gappi and others). Manoor provides behavioural training to the dogs.  He is not involved in Activity Training.

He says that many animals arrived at Phoebe Farm (PF) are unwanted pets, deserted up by their owners for numerous reasons. PF also take animals from the aide RSPCA that have sadly been neglected and abused by their owners or injured in road traffic accidents. PF provides a temporary boarding service for local councils, taking care of dogs and cats for people in difficult situations, until their owners can reclaim them. Sometimes they are signed over to farm’s care once it is established the owner is unable to provide for them anymore.

Manor says that most of their animals are re-homed within a few weeks, but some dogs and cats stay under their care much longer than others. It can just be a case of being overlooked, disability or appearance, but more commonly it is because they have specialised behavioural needs that a lot of people don’t have the time for or experience to cope with.

According to Manoor some dogs and cats have not been socialised, when young and hence they develop defensive and inappropriate behaviours towards strangers and other animals. Others have experienced a trauma, neglected or abused in their past, which has knocked their confidence with human beings.

Manoor never puts a healthy animal to sleep and never give up hope of finding them a new loving home, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs! It can take a long time to gain the trust of these animals to be able to rehabilitate them so they can start to enjoy life and look for a new home. Manoor believes that there is a special someone out there for every dog and cat, it is just a case of finding them.

All the animals at Phoebe are health and are periodically checked by a Vet, neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and treated for fleas and worms before going to a new home. Dogs are also assessed by a qualified dog behaviourist to establish what sort of home they need.

He provides consultancy to dog owners on how to handle the dogs and understand their psyche. The dogs in the farm are kept free and are corrected only when they do something wrong.  Manoor teaches them to be happy and peaceful.

In a year 3000 dogs are given shelter and are provided for adoption. An in-depth study is being carried out to understand the dog characteristics before the training.  An example was quoted that if you have food in your hand and the dog out of the whole group who searches it first can be a good sniffer. Manoor also informed that out of all the dogs one dog will have leadership qualities and will be the leader of the group.  If the dog is too aggressive then they cannot be treated as pets but can be used as guard dogs.  Dogs are willing to learn everything but cannot be forcibly taught and try to please humans in all possible ways.

The revenue generation akes place through four modes, namely; Lodging and Boarding, Rentals, Dog sessions, Vegetable (farm produce) selling. The owners, who avail of the boarding for their pets, leave them in the custody of Phoebe farm management. The income generation also happens by giving dog sessions to help the dog owners to understand their dogs.

They have constructed tent houses on the farm, where dog lovers, who don’t have dogs at home can spend their time with the dogs on weekends.  These tent houses are provided on a rental basis. Vegetables and fruits are grown on the farms are used for consumption by animals at the farm and excess is sold off in the market.  Approximately 600 kg of vegetables is sold per week.  They have created facility for water harvesting.  A well, river and man-made pond takes care of water supply for the pets.

PF aim is to provide all the love, attention and veterinary care dogs need and find them all a new loving forever home. The more money they generate the more animals they can help. Manoor is along with his employees, who are dog lovers too are from the nearby villages and takes care of the complete supply chain of food for the farm animals. The inputs covered are chicken, meat, eggs, vegetables, grains, medicines, milk etc. Currently, they consume around 600 Kgs of chicken per week. A separate kitchen with full time cook is on the farm is a part of the supply chain and takes care of both animals and the frequent farm visitors, dog owners, employees and guests too.

Manoor says, “there can be some mixed signals when you first meet them - when they're not sure about you, when you're first starting to build a bond. But once they've learned to trust you, they tend to become wholeheartedly obsessed with you -- and they have zero interest in "playing it cool," feigning indifference, or not calling you back. They have no ulterior motives. They don't plot to steal your boy/girlfriend, or make insipid comments about your roots starting to go grey, or answer important questions with frustrated sighs. They're all heart and gut."