BENGALURU: It was on a December evening in 2020 that Katie Boyle and her partner Arne Jach returned home from work and suspected that their pet Rex had playfully chewed on some painkillers from their medicine cabinet. The couple tried to rush the dog to a veterinary hospital but no autorickshaw or cab was willing to ferry the canine. Finally, after an hour they managed to find one and get timely treatment for Rex.
That evening was the tipping point. While most pet parents would have bought a car after the agonising episode, this Irish-German couple settled in Bengaluru who have adopted two strays did something different. They bought an autorickshaw just for their dogs. Now the red three-wheeler is used to take the pets to the vet and roam around the city.
“It was very upsetting to realise that most cabbies or autorickshaw drivers won’t transport your dog even in a crisis situation. Therefore, we did what was best for Rex and Bruscar,” says Jach.
The couple searched for an auto for months, both online and offline, but only found jalopies on sale. “Finally, last October we got extremely lucky when another German who owned an autorickshaw was selling it as he was leaving for home,” says Jach.
A German professional brewer, Jach arrived in Bengaluru in September 2019 to join a startup dealing in craft beer and special coffee. With his office in Hebbal, Jach would ride to work on his motorcycle every day.
“He used to pass by a garbage dump in Koramangala where he noticed a dog and her two puppies. But one day the mother and a pup lay dead and the other one was walking around. Jach didn’t have the heart to leave her alone in the waste dump and decided to bring her home,” recalls Boyle. Then in Dublin, the Irishwoman witnessed the puppy’s homecoming in Bengaluru via video call. The couple decided to name the pub Bruscar (meaning trash in Irish) as she was rescued from a dump.
Rex entered the couple’s heart and home two weeks later when Jach was taking Bruscar for an evening walk and Rex started following them from nowhere. “He was a few months old and it was as if he was telling me that I belong with you guys,” laughs the German.
They shifted homes to give dogs more space
Boyle, a coffee expert employed with the startup, flew down to Bengaluru in January 2020 not only to reunite with her boyfriend but also to meet Bruscar and Rex. “We lived in an apartment in Koramangala. We then moved to an individual house in HSR Layout to give them more space to run around and play,” she says.
According to Manisha Sadana, the couple’s friend and another pet parent, transportation of dogs in Bengaluru is quite a challenge. “There have been pet cab services but nothing has been stable or reliable, especially in medical emergencies. So, most pet parents end up buying vehicles,” says Sadana, who has purchased a car exclusively for her dog.
