Harrods’ famous pet department ‘Pet Kingdom’ is due to close at the end of the month to make way for a new women’s fashion floor. The iconic pet department has been famous for selling almost any animal – Ronald Reagan was given a baby elephant as a present in the 1970s, and Noel Coward also bought an alligator.
One of the most famous purchases was a lion cub, bought by two Australian backpackers (John Rendall and Anthony Bourke), named Christian the cub. He eventually outgrew their home in London and conservationist George Adamson released the cub back into the wild in Africa.
Of course things had to change for the better (for the animals that is) with the introduction of the Endangered Species Act.
Controversy didn’t go away, however, with many animal groups (including Dogs Trust) very much against dogs being sold in a shop environment.
Having visited Pet Kingdom it was sad to see children screaming at puppies through a glass window, as luxurious as the dog beds were – surely not a great introduction to people and certainly not a relaxing environment for such small creatures.
Whether you agree with dogs being sold in pet shops or not, how they are looked after is surely of the utmost importance. This is something we are very passionate about at Oscar & Hooch. It is always sad to see such an iconic pet shop disappear but not necessarily every part of it…
