An ardent dog lover, a pet parent and former Indian cricketer, Virender Sehwag, on the cricket chat show What the Duck with Vikram Sathaye was seen wearing a quirky t-shirt with a heartfelt message. The t-shirt had ‘The Dogfather’ written on it — one of the many dog and cat designs — which aims at celebrating animals and raising funds to improve the welfare of stray cats and dogs. The episode in which Sehwag wore the t-shirt from Floof — a company founded by Pune-based Kapil Patwardhan, also featured Indian cricket legend Anil Kumble where they both talked about memorable incidents from their glorious careers.
Floof is an empire of stray dogs and cats. Currently, through their merchandise store, they raise funds for feeding, sterilisation and adoption of strays. Their products celebrate the furry friends and strive to give the ones without a roof the best care and attention until they find a loving home.
Through their range of quirky apparel wear, they aim to benefit the welfare of stray cats and dogs in India.
Talking to Patwardhan, we find out more about Floof and the cause it promotes. Excerpts:
How did Floof come into existence?
Cats and dogs have been very close to my heart. I grew up around them and looking back at my childhood, I can’t remember the humans that much but all the cats, dogs, turtles, tortoises are deeply rooted in my memory!
As time went by, I saw the conditions of strays in our country, especially in Pune. I had been in touch with a Sri Lankan organisation which tries to raise funds through selling merchandise and the thought of starting something similar here crossed my mind.
What is your background?
I have done Sports Management from Winthrop University, South Carolina. Sports is one of the few areas which unite people regardless of their backgrounds, so I wanted to explore it further as a career. Although Floof has all my attention, I still work on content for What The Duck and do a few other writing projects and stand-up comedy gigs here and there.
Where do you find inspiration?
The inspiration behind everything I do is my first dog Caesar. Coincidently, the dog in The Dogfather design is my tribute to Caesar who crossed the rainbow bridge in March. While growing up I had tortoise, fish and cats, but Caesar was my first dog. In November 2007, my family found a tiny fur-ball on the streets in bad shape. His body was a haven for fleas and ticks. With the help of medication and a miracle Caesar survived and became a permanent resident under the pretext of house safety, which was required to convince my grandparents. After rescuing him, we let him rescue us.
Later, we had Cleopatra and now Jasmine and Skyzer. They are permanent residents at the Floof house and my constant source of motivation.
What is your motto?
There are many people who love and adore dogs but can’t have one at home. Floof aims at targeting and including that chunk of the audience in the community. These people can buy the merchandise and get the good-feel that some proceeds go towards animal welfare. Floof is a party celebrating animal life and everyone is invited to be a part of it. By buying our quirky shirts and merchandise you can be a part of this community.
A lot of people are doing the good work, I’m just joining the party!
How does Floof exactly work?
For every Floof t-shirt sold we feed four stray dogs and cats. Until now we have provided for 1200+ meals. We aim to feed more dogs per t-shirt once our overhead costs like website, designers and content-writers reduce.
What is your next step?
We want to expand as a vegan animal-loving brand. Through the sales of our merchandise we aim to build a shelter and set up stores across Pune. We aim to set up adoption camps and offer lifetime medical expenses for those dogs. We aim to expand and be a household brand.
You can check out their range of products on getfloof.com
