Philosopher Sir Bernard Williams said, there is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face; and any dog lover will agree with this statement.
Uber recognised this and decided to give their customers a stress buster to make them smile on a RUFF day.
I got a chance to ride with one of the Ubers in Andheri East thanks to Stephanie & Chelsea from World for All (WFA).
The puppies were to be picked up from a foster home where I met Simon & Stephanie. I had a great time interacting with them while we waited for our ride.
Simon Sebastian (Student & WFA Volunteer) – ‘ Since I am a volunteer with World for All, they contacted me for the #UberPuppies Activity. The event was pretty cool, first in Bombay so even cooler! I sadly don’t have a pet of my own, but this activity gave me a lot of time to spend with the puppies. I do believe it will help with adoption since it reaches out to people that are really interested. By doing these little things, making people happy, is cool. I would definitely do this again!
The Uber arrived on time driven by Mr. Surendra, accompanied by Uber Volunteer Ruchita Shah.
Mr. Surendra (Uber Cab driver) – ‘ I love dogs! If it were up to me I would have dogs around me all the time! This activity really excited me since I would get to play with the puppies too. For me breeds don’t matter, I would adopt any day. I would love to have a dog to call my own, sadly my house is very small with a large family in it; but I do see myself having my own dog someday.’
Ruchita Shah (Engg student in INFT & works with Uber) – ‘When my boss asked me if I wanted to be a part of this initiative by my Boss at Uber, I jumped to the opportunity before even letting him complete his sentence! I really wish I could keep a dog, but since I am Jain, I cannot have pets back home. From the day I was told about the activity, till today I was dreaming about cuddling and playing with the puppies day in & day out! When I held them in my arms, it was like carrying a baby of my own! If I ever get to keep a dog, I would love to have a cute tiny one like a Chihuahua or a Pug. I hope they have another #UberPuppies Activity , would love to do it again!’
All this while, I kept logging into my app and checking if Uber had started providing the option for the puppies. But not a minute more not a minute less; the option popped up exactly at 2pm.
I asked Ruchita how she knew where to go? She told me that the volunteers were given access to a special app by Uber which provided them with requests. The volunteers were asked to take whichever requests they could between 2pm to 4pm.
Those lucky to get a visit also got some goodies from Uber & World For All.
The Uber volunteers even had a WhatsApp group where they all shared updates and pictures throughout the day.
To make sure the puppies were no too stressed out, the teams had arranged for multiple Ubers and puppies at many locations across Mumbai.
In our little time frame from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, we met some very interesting people!
Prachi Pawar met us outside her office in Chandivali with a group of friends (Navodit, Pranay, Tushar, Sourav, Sarath, Chandra, Pritam) who couldn’t get enough of the puppies!
Prachi Pawar (Marketing) – ‘I learnt about #Uberpuppies via email & was quite excited about it. I got all my colleagues to come and cuddle with them near our office which was quite a stress buster for us all! I absolutely adore dogs! Sadly since I am staying away from my family, adopting a pet just wouldn’t be possible. I don’t have a pet at home either but would love to have one. I may not be able to adopt but I am definitely considering fostering one. I would totally do this again!’
We met a very sweet couple – Pauline & Keshav, who took us to their home. The puppies immediately fell in love with them and fell asleep in their arms. As we rung the bell, we saw we had a visitor waiting for us, their beautiful cocker spaniel, Manny.
Pauline Todd (Category Head at L’Oreal) – ‘We came to know about #UberPuppies through the application, and we enjoyed every bit of it! We were in love with the super cute puppies since we laid eyes on them. They seemed so timid & shy initially but quickly warmed up to us and showed us their lively personalities. For us all dogs are special & a gift. We would definitely want to have this cute & fun experience again.’
Mr. Purushottam & his lovely family welcomed the puppies with huge smiles. It was quite a special day for them since it was the first time their son held a puppy! Even Mr. Purushottam's mother came down to greet the pups.
Mr. Purushottam - ‘ I love dogs and we logged into the app continuously to make sure we would get to be a part of the wonderful initiative. I wanted my son to experience the joy of holding a pup, which happened today.’
Adonis, is an animal lover and has a beautiful Labrador back home with her parents. Her husband isn’t a huge fan of pets but for her happiness he always lets her play with the dogs while on an evening stroll and pets them too. They have quite recently been blessed with a baby, who was fast asleep giving them time to play with the Uber pups. Our white pup took a strong liking towards Adonis!
Adonis – ‘ I really miss my dog back home & want a dog here too! I sadly know I won’t be able to give it enough time with my baby and other responsibilities. Whenever me and my husband go for a walk, I play with every dog on the way, and it is a real stress buster. I love this initiative and was on the app from 2:00pm trying to get a chance to meet them and I am so glad I did! I learnt about #UberPuppies from Facebook & would love to do it again!’
Today was such a warm and rewarding day for me, the happiness glistening in everyone’s eyes when they played with the pups was just heart warming! Spending time with adorable pups and dog lovers definitely made my day. I was a bit worried considering the stress the pups many go through visiting many people, but the volunteers took a lot of care of the pups and made sure they were hydrated & fed well too.
This activity was also carried out at a few other places in India with different animals shelters & I got the chance to interact with a few on social media.
Prerna Lalwani (Finance Team at Mondelez India) – ‘ I am an Uber regular! I got an email about the #UberPuppies event. My sister & I met the puppies near my home and interacted with them inside the Uber itself since we didn’t want to tire them out. We tried out luck at 2pm on the dot and... Voila! We got a cab full of puppies! We don’t have a pet yet which added to our excitement. We were really glad to know that we were the first ones to meet Thunder & Bolt! I have never had a pet, but now I really want one. I would love to adopt a stray. Currently we are convincing my parents for a little kitten! I think cats are pretty independent and bad-ass '
Zahir Ali (High school Student) – ‘ One of my friends is a regular Uber customer and he received an email about the #UberPuppies. We thought it would be great to be a part of it especially when we learnt that Uber was collaborating with Animal shelters & various NGO’s from all over India for this. It was basically like booking a cab, & and cab came with puppies! It was a great experience for me, the puppies were very comfortable with us, as if they have been around people since they were born. My friends & I called for the pups at a friend’s place. I don’t have a pet but I would absolutely love to have one. To be honest I have always wanted a Pug, but I would not mind adopting a stray from a shelter. Infact, the puppies that came today too were strays rescued by the animal shelter. The Uber crew was very nice and they even shared their experience of their visits prior to ours. It was nice getting to know them. I would love to do this again! ’
Jaipur
Neha Kathuria (Psychologist) – ‘ I came to know about this event through Facebook & to my luck, I was their last stop in Jaipur. My family & I met the #UberPuppies at my house and had a lot of fun. I am fond of dogs and if given a chance to have one at home, I would definitely adopt a stray because I believe everyone wants to adopt a fancy breed, but it’s the strays that need help and a loving home. If I get a chance, I would love to do this again! ’
Nagpur
Sudha Murthy Teegavarpu (Software Engineer) – ‘I got to meet the #UberPuppies with my family at home. It was a wonderful experience and I would like to do it again. I currently don’t have a pet & if I planned to have one, I wouldn’t mind adopting a stray.’
The initiative taken up by Uber & World for All to promote adoptions & fosters for stays did go quite well. Most individuals that I interacted with told me they would prefer to adopt a stray henceforth; infact a few even spoke to the WFA volunteer trying to get all the details they could about fostering one. This activity helped WFA reach & impact a wider audience through Uber especially since each WFA volunteer ensured they spoke at every venue about their cause & how each individual make a difference in an animals life. I do strongly believe with such activities the incorrect preconceived notions of stays in peoples minds can be changed effectively, which will hopefully give a rise to adoptions or fosters of animals in need.
It would be great to have a regular activity like this, it also proves to be a great de-stresser at work & helps people enjoy the love of a warm pup, even if it is for just a few minutes.
It would be great to have a regular activity like this, it also proves to be a great de-stresser at work & helps people enjoy the love of a warm pup, even if it is for just a few minutes.
I would like to thank everyone who was a part of this initiative for the wonderful experience.
0 comments:
Post a Comment