Africa-Press – Kenya. Selling pets such as dogs is slowly becoming a reliable business as more Kenyans accept the pets culture.
In traditional African societies, dogs were kept for specific tasks such as hunting and chasing after rats – and were strictly to stay out of the house.
However, the changing culture has seen more pets accepted into homes – not just for rudimentary purposes but many of them are being kept for companionship with no costs being spared to ensure their comfort.
Six puppies can be sold at Ksh120,000. The Japanese Spitz and Maltese breeds are sold from as low as Ksh 10,000 to Ksh 20,000.
A German Shepherd puppy can fetch as high as Ksh45,000. Puppies take three months to be born which makes this business a seasonal source of income.
“Dogs give birth after three months and after that.[sic] There’s the period where they have to nurture their babies so take a total of 7 months ..before you can maybe get another litter”, Vanessa Wanjiru Wakaba, a dog breeder replied.
Pet food worth Ksh 290,556,000 was imported into Kenya from the United States of America – according to Global Agricultural Information Network report, 2018.
This value indicates the growing number of enthusiastic dog owners in Kenya.
The factors to consider when raising dogs for sale are licensing, veterinary care, grooming, food and training.
The Nairobi City County Dog Control and Welfare Act, 2015 has conditions on keeping a dog. One must have a license to keep a dog.
The Act requires all dogs to have identification tags. Authorized officers are allowed to capture unsupervised dogs with or without labels in public areas between 10 p.m and 6a.m.
A Royal Pets Representative confirmed that Ksh10,000 to Ksh20,000 can be spent on a Dog’s healthcare in a year. This fee mostly covers vaccinations. These are usually done in the early life of the pet when it easily gets sick.
“Tick fever and Kennel flu, those are the common diseases they are likely to get”, reported Cynthia Amani of Royal Pets.
APA insurance offers covers to pets in the event of euthanasia, accidents and illness.
Dogs are divided into smaller and bigger breeds. Smaller breeds require less food to eat, however, a lot more money can be spent grooming compared to bigger breeds. Small dogs are found in apartments while big breeds are found in residential areas with a compound. Dogs such as the Rottweiler and German Shepherd are big breeds that are used for security purposes.
Training dogs is done to ensure they do not become a threat to the public. A disciplined pet will not destroy property and attack human beings or other animals.
Families with children buy more dogs than single people. Pets offer more engagement compared to playing video games. The animals offer companionship during times of crisis. Engagement and companionship are the reasons people buy pets.
