A hotel for your pet in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: For someone who was terrified of dogs and was “too scared to even look at them”, Afra Al Daheri has come a long way to set up Abu Dhabi’s first pet hotel.

The 28-year-old Emirati recalls being so afraid of dogs as a child that she “was too scared to even look at them”. But, with the help of a friend, she got over her fear and instead developed a passion for rescuing them.

While other children were busy spending their pocket money on toys and entertainment, Afra spent her allowance on saving animals.

“I have always loved animals since I was a child.”

In 2006, she started working for organisations that rescued, fostered and rehomed animals in Abu Dhabi.

“I would drive around and, if I saw a stray dog or a sick animal, I would pick them up and take them to animal shelters.”

By 2008, she had set up a Facebook group, UAE Pet Lovers, that helped rescue and rehome animals by involving the community. Though it had a slow start, the group today has over 6,000 members.

Through her work at the shelters and her group, Afra noticed that many of the rescued animals were microchipped, a fact that baffled her.

How come these stray animals were microchipped? And then, to her horror, she realised that these animals had been abandoned by their owners.

“When people go on a holiday, they do not know where to leave their pets, so they abandon them,” she says.

Afra was also unhappy with the services available in Abu Dhabi for stray or sick animals.

“Especially the high vet bills,” she says. “So I started to think that if I had my own venue, I could control the cost.”

By 2009, she put a business plan together for Cloud 9 Pet Hotel, a venue that could offer boarding for animals and competitively priced veterinary services.

But there was just one hitch — her concept needed funding to turn into reality. It is a challenge she counts among the biggest she has faced so far.

“I couldn’t ask my family [to fund the venture] and I couldn’t take a loan because I was a student.”

The 28-year-old then approached the Khalifa Fund with her business plan.

But her project was so novel that Khalifa Fund requested her to present a stronger business case.

Though disappointed, the Fund’s response fuelled Afra’s determination. After extensive market research — which included surveying around 800 people — she went back to them and re-presented her case.

“I went back and demanded that they hear me. I wanted to convince them that there was a requirement for a boarding facility for animals here in the UAE,” she says.

She was called in several times to answer queries until the Fund was satisfied. Her persistence and determination is still remembered by the Fund.

“Afra is a hard-working, passionate and persistent Emirati entrepreneur,” said Qusay Abdul Wahab, manager, entrepreneurship development department for Khalifa Fund.

Qusay explained the reasons why Afra’s case took longer than usual. “She wanted to start a business in a field we don’t normally see Emiratis venturing into. Afra is a pioneer in a field [and] ...we weren’t very knowledgeable on the details of the market she wanted to tap into.”

When Khalifa Fund was satisfied that the project was feasible, they approved the funding.

“It took about a year to get the approval. It was the happiest day of my life,” Afra recalls.

Funding was not the end of the challenge, though. Now she had to get a licence for her business from Abu Dhabi Municipality.

She wanted to convert a villa in the Khalifa area of [Abu Dhabi] into her pet hotel venture but, once again, she met with resistance due to the novel concept.

It took about another 12 months to get the approvals from the municipality.

Finally, in February 2012, Afra opened the doors to Cloud 9 Pet Hotel — the first-of-its-kind facility in Abu Dhabi that caters to a diversity of animals including cats, dogs, birds and fish.

“We have everything here — boarding facilities, animal grooming, day-care and a veterinary clinic [all under one roof]. That’s what makes us different. [Also], it is much less time-consuming for our clients.”

But there is a road bump — the issue of abandoned animals at the facility.

“A lot of animals that are brought here for boarding end up being dumped by their owners,” says Afra. This leads to increased expense for her and also takes up space that ought to be for paying customers.

The extra cost is currently being borne by her and through public donations as she tries to rehome the animals.

Beyond the problem of the needless expense, what also deeply disturbs her is the callous attitude of people who keep animals as pets only to abandon them. “The owners don’t realise the kind of effect they are having on the animals,” she says. “They [the animals] get depressed, stop eating and they know and understand that they are not going home any time soon.”

She finds this hard to watch and accept.

At the time of Gulf News’ visit, Cloud 9 had 16 cats and 10 dogs which were abandoned by their owners. Since its opening almost four years ago, Cloud 9 has rehomed 150 abandoned pets.

Though her business is well established, Afra still works between 12 and 14 hours a day when required and also on weekends. But she is not complaining. “Working here full-time is like a dream come true. I never feel tired or bored. I am happy,” she says. She has plans for more.

“[One of the plans] is to open another branch by the beginning of next year. We want to open a fitness centre for the animals and hire a veterinary specialist for falcons. We have a lot of things in mind, we are still in the preparatory stage,” she says.