In 2023, buying a pet online in India often came down to luck. A family would see a photo, call a number, transfer money and hope. Some got a healthy companion. Others received a sick animal, a different breed from the one advertised, or a phone that stopped answering.
Nearby Pets India was founded that year in Kharar, Punjab, to close that gap.
Starting close to the source
The company began in a modest office just outside Chandigarh. The location was no accident. Punjab and neighbouring Haryana are home to some of North India's best-known dog breeders, around Ludhiana, Rajpura and Ambala.
Being nearby meant the team could visit farms in person, see the parent dogs, meet the puppies and choose who to work with. That first-hand checking became the company's foundation.
“We did not want to be a website that simply forwards photos,” says Soundarrajan Kannan, Founder & CEO of Nearby Pets India. “We wanted to know where every pet came from, because a family is trusting us with a member of their household.”
Listening to families
In the early months, the small team handled everything — late-night enquiries, breed advice for first-time owners and one delivery at a time. The same three worries came up in almost every conversation:
- Will the pet be healthy?
- Will I get exactly what I paid for?
- Who will help me if something goes wrong?
The company built its service around answering those three questions. Every pet is vet-checked and travels with a vet certificate, backed by a 7-day health guarantee. Families can see their pet before paying the balance. And the team stays reachable by phone and WhatsApp, before and after delivery.
Growing by word of mouth
The model worked. Satisfied families recommended the service to friends and relatives in other cities, and Nearby Pets India has since served more than 1,000 customers.
“Our best marketing has always been a happy family sending us a photo of their puppy a month later,” Kannan says.
What the name means
The name Nearby Pets reflects the original idea: buying a pet online should feel as safe as buying from a trusted shop down the road — even when the pet travels hundreds of kilometres.
“Nearby is not about distance,” Kannan explains. “It is about being close when a family needs us.”
Today, Nearby Pets India delivers to more than 770 cities and towns across the country. The Kharar office remains its operational base.
Website: nearby-petstore.in · Phone / WhatsApp: +91 80696 45024
