Most Expensive Pet Wedding - Why Do People Dress Up Their Pets?

I usually write about celebrity weddings, but this time I am writing about a pet wedding. In another instance of people dressing up their pets, a lavish pet wedding reception was held in New York City (USA). This pet wedding was held in mid-July 2012, and has got the Guinness Book World Record of the most expensive pet wedding ever. During the ceremony two dogs were married off by their owners. The total cost of this pet wedding celebration was a massive $250,000.

While some people thought it was cute, others complained about the bizarre quotient of this pet wedding. Even I think it is crazy the way people dress up their pets, and have expensive parties for them. Whenever I tried to put a warm coat over my cat, he used to get very angry, walk funny, shake the coat off, and run away. In fact, he used to be terrified of the coat, and used to hide whenever I held it in my hands. Such pet clothing restricts normal animal behaviour and should be discouraged.

Details About The Most Expensive Pet Wedding

Well, this expensive pet wedding was held at a lavish charity extravaganza at New York’s renowned Jumeirah Essex House to benefit the Humane Society of New York, so it's great that at least some sick or abandoned pets will be benefiting from this sheer extravagance. After the ceremony, the pair of married dogs was presented with a Guinness World Record certificate for the category of ‘most expensive pet wedding’.

The bride was a small Coton de Tulear named Baby Hope Diamond, while the groom was a poodle named Chily Pasternak, whose white fur had been dyed blue and purple. It seems so sad to colour the dog, what must he be feeling? The dyes may also be harmful, I hope he did not lick his fur. Baby Hope Diamond was made to wear a small off-white wedding gown in satin, which looked really uncomfortable. Her poodle groom was stuffed in a black and magenta waistcoat, with a red bowtie, and no pants. Clearly, he was not excited about the wedding, but decided to go for it anyway.

The US $250,000 pet wedding was partly paid for by Wendy Diamond, the owner of Baby Hope Diamond, to raise funds and awareness for the Humane Society of New York. According to her, the wedding was perfect. She said, “These dogs are so sweet. It’s a perfect match”. Ms Diamond was dressed in a white wedding gown, while the owner of Chily Pasternak was wearing a black suit. The wedding was attended by different breeds of dogs, all dressed up in silly frocks and suits.

Pet couture has become fashionable in recent years, and many retail brands have taken advantage of the fact that people love their pets, and have strong sold their pet fashion items with heavy advertising and promotional deals. I hope this expensive pet wedding did not have any such intention, as I do not like to see people dressing up their pets, except if their pet is sick and it is really cold or rainy.

Many vendors have donated their services for this pet fundraising event. While Floralia Decorators covered the wedding venue (Grand Salon in Essex House) with fuschia orchids worth $ 30,000, James Chung served sushi worth around $5,000 to the wedding guests. In addition, Ellen DeGeneres’ company sponsored a pet food buffet for the other pets who attended the world’s most expensive pet wedding.

Once I organised a birthday party for my cat, and purchased a cat-shaped cake. However, my cat did not turn up for the party. He went on a 3-4 day long hunt, and I had to cut and eat the cake myself. Have you ever dressed up your pet? What do you think about the world's most expensive pet wedding? Have you ever considered having a wedding or birthday party for your pet?

New Delhi Zoo Review

This weekend I went to the Delhi Zoo, and really enjoyed watching the animals playing about in their enclosures. As it was quite hot, the zoo was pretty empty, and I could see the animals properly without being pushed around by the burgeoning crowd.

The entry ticket was Rs.20 for adults, Rs.10 for children, and Rs. 100 for cameras. I had a mobile phone camera, and as that didn't count as a camera, I did not take the camera ticket. Bags and food are not allowed in the zoo, and people have to deposit them in the baggage area. I had only taken a small purse, so I did not have to deposit my bag.The Delhi Zoo is closed on Fridays, so don't plan any zoo adventure on that day.

Some of the animals I saw at the Delhi Zoo were deer, rhinos, hippos, white tiger, babbar lion, giraffe, sloth bear, black himalayan bear,  fox, jackal, reindeer, black bucks, langurs, neel gai, bison, cheetal deer, civet cat, jaguar, panther (yellow) and elephants (indian and african). I really liked the giraffe, it was amazingly tall and had a pretty pattern on its fur.

Some of the birds I saw in the Delhi zoo were ducks, white swans,parrots, cockatoos, parakeets, pariah kites, Himalayan eagles, cocks and hens, white peacocks, green peacocks, guinea fowls, pelicans, emus and storks.

Food: People are not allowed to take eatables in the Delhi zoo; which is a good thing, because some idiots poison the animals, while some may give them rubbish to eat. There are small stalls around the zoo selling water, cold drinks and ice-cream. No eatables are available anywhere, to prevent people from feeding crap to the animals, and dirtying the enclosures. The only animals that can be fed are the deer. Just pluck some leaves from a nearby tree and feed them. If you are silent enough, they'll come and eat out of your hand.

Transport: Small mini-vans are available to take people around the Delhi zoo, if they don't wanna walk. However, these vans go really fast and miss some of the enclosures. Hence, I chose to walk around the zoo, and see the animals at my leisure. There are arrows marking a trail in the ground, but these arrows were not numbered and were too confusing. I saw arrows everywhere, got confused, and then followed my own path.

What I didn't like about the Delhi Zoo: Some people were trying to irritate the animals in the Delhi Zoo, especially wild animals, like the jaguar. The double cage usually present around the jaguar's enclosure was missing, and an idiot (presumably, from a village in Bihar or UP), was dangling a handkerchief in front of the jaguar's face, saying 'pakad...gadha ka bacha' (catch...son of a donkey). The smart jaguar was able to put his paws outside the cage, and could easily have grabbed the man's hand, and dragged his hand in....that would have been quite a scene.

What I liked about the Delhi Zoo: Animals like monkeys and peacocks were left to roam about freely, and not caged. It would be great if the Delhi zoo would allow other animals, like elephants and camels, to be viewed out of their enclosures. They could offer elephant or camel rides in the zoo, or else simple photo opportunities. However, these rides should be offered a distance from the wild animal enclosures, or else the elephant or camel may freak out, whenever a wild animal roars. I also liked the signboards on the trees, and the landscaping work.

Toilets: There are some toilets around the Delhi zoo, but the ladies toilet was locked. I later had to use the big toilet outside the zoo. Unfortunately, this toilet did not have a single mirror.

Do you like visiting zoos? Have you been to the New Delhi Zoo? What was your experience there?

2007 Indian Budget - Pet Friendly

Pet Friendly 2007 Indian Budget

In the annual 2007 budget the govenment announced that the cost of petfood like cat food and dog food will be cheaper as the duties will be cut by 10 percent. Kudos to the govenment. Here are the facts -

Finance Minister - P Chidambaram : "I have good news for cat and dog lovers, I propose to reduce the duty on pet foods from 30 per cent to 20 per cent."

Opposition Party creates a commotion.

Speaker - Somnath Chatterjee: "don't you like dogs".

Leader of Opposition- L K Advani - "At a time today when aam admi (ordinary man) finds dal (lentils) costly, the Finance Minister exults over the fact that he is reducing prices of food for pets like dogs and cats"

Railway Minister - Laloo Prasad Yadav, "Pet food price cut benefits BJP leaders, these self-same leaders keep high pedigree dogs, whereas village simpletons like us only keep mongrels poor things. They're always running from pillar to post begging for food."
( I suppose he was referring to Maneka Gandhi and pals who roam about Lodhi Gardens with expensive foreign breeds as showpieces)


I think it is a good idea of the govenment to reduce the price of petfood. If the government is giving sops to every section of society - poor, women, wildlife, businesses etc. Then why not pets too ? It is not just the rich but even poor people in slums who have pets cats, dogs or birds. These pets may not be expensive foreign pedigreed animals but they are quite cute and well loved by their family.

The only reason why its usually the rich who feed their pets dogfood or catfood is because these items are very costly in India. Reducing the prices of petfood will lead to pets from not so rich families also getting a taste of petfood.

I don't know much about Pedigree dogfood but a pack of catfood usually costs -

Dry Whiskas - Rs.80 for 200 gms
Dry Brit or Sportmix - Rs.100 for 300 gms.
Wet Whiskas - Rs.25 for a pouch of Tuna or Salmon in jelly.

My cat loves catfood but like Laloo Prasad Yadav I usually feed him only kitchen scraps. I give him catfood only as a treat and try to make a single pack last a month because of the high cost. As the prices of petfood reduce more people will be able to feed their pets which will result in healthy and happy pets in India.

Pets may not be voters or have a voice but its good to see that the govenment is keeping them in mind when it comes to making proposals. As for the BJP, they always protest against any measure that does'nt benefit themselves.

I hope the petfood sellers pass on this benefit to the customers and don't keep the profits to themselves. And Mr. Laloo, next year, please announce special compartments in railway trains for pets and their owners as we don't like leaving them behind when we go on vacation....... pleeeease. (You'll get my vote)

Pointers for Pet Owners going on Vacation

Tips for Travelling with your Pet

Today, on the 3rd Birthday of my cat, I can't help but think of the thousands of pets that are lost or abandoned by people on vacation. Most pet owners who travel are not really mean but are just unaware or too lazy to bother to think of any options. As, the summer holidays start, here are some points to help pet owners plan thier vacation.

Vacation with Pets Tip 1. Leave the pet with neighbours/family in the same Neighbourhood (all pets) - Make sure the caretakers are people who love pets and won't mistreat him/ forget to feed him in your absence. The pet should be ok in the same environment with familiar faces. Remember to provide your pets favourite food/toys and money to buy milk,bread etc. that he needs daily. Another merit is that you can phone often and 'speak' to your pet and know that she is fine.

Travel with Pets Tip 2. Leaving Pets with friend/family in other areas of the city (all pets except cats) - for pets that don't move out of the house much. This is so they don't get lost or killed finding thier way back home, or walking in some other animal's territory.

Vacation with Pets Tip 3. Leaving Pet Home Alone (cats only) - Since cats are very protective of thier territory and not as emotional as dogs. Leave an entry/exit point open, like a tiny window/balcony or a small hole cut in the door so the cat can go outside to pee/poo. Take small packets of catfood wrapped in newspaper and hide them around the house. Stick some packets with cellotape at different heights which the cat can sniff and find after a few days. Leave a bucketful of drinking water around. Your cat should be fine when you return coz most of them can easily hunt birds/rodents, scavenge in garbage bins or steal from neighbours. However, if you have a expensive breed cat, there is a chance it may get stolen if it's too tame. Most thieves think twice about stealing a cat as they are difficult to catch, scratch and bite sharply and are considered bad luck.

Travel with Pets Tip 4. Animal Hotels/ Holiday Home ( usually for dogs) - I would not recommend this as pets are largely ignored in these homes. They are not fed properly or given water, they howl miserably the whole day long, people whack them, there is a chance they may be sold off too. There may be some good animal homes but hey they are very difficult to find and they cost hellova-lot. Can be used as a last resort.

Vacation with Pets Tip 5. Taking Pet Along on the Vacation (all pets) - Always keep the pet in a carrying case or on a leash firmly tied up, unless you are indoors with all the doors and windows shut. The animal may get disoriented by its surroundings and if it runs off there is a 95 percent chance you will never find it again. There is also the issue of continous howling to deal with. Remember to pack your pets food and toys. Line the pet's box with a diaper, for easy cleaning.

a) Driving down to your vacation spot is the most convienient. Just ignore the howling. The pet is just communicating its discomfort and is not in any great danger.

b) Train - try and travel by second class. If you have a small, silent animal keep him in a box/pet case either under the seat or on the top berth. If you have a big dog/noisy pet and you cannot convince fellow passengers or the TT to let him stay with you then you have to put him in the luggage bogie. You have the option of checking on him when the train stops for a long time at some stations.

c) Plane - is the most problematic with Lots of rules and procedures to go through. Also your pets health may suffer due to lack of oxygen, heat, cold and pressure in the baggage hold.

There are many who lock thier doors and leave thier pets to the mercy of the streets just for a few weeks mazaa. This is certainly not fair,animals may not be able to speak out but thier silent tears and howls leads to the Law of Karma catching up with thier owners.

Anyone with more suggestions on travelling with thier pets please post a comment !!

travelling with pets cats dogs travel tips