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Harrods, the luxury department store in Knightsbridge, London, once upon a time, also housed the Harrods Pet Department.
Harrods’ famous pet department ‘Pet Kingdom’ closed in January 2014. This was to make way for a new women’s fashion floor.
The iconic pet department had 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. Christian the cub, was bought and named by two Australian backpackers (John Rendall and Anthony Bourke). He eventually outgrew their home in London. 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). The introduction of the Endangered Species Act helped with that.
Controversy didn’t go away, however. Many animal groups (including Dogs Trust) were very much against dogs being sold in a shop environment.
Having visited Pet Kingdom, it was so sad to see children screaming at puppies through a glass window. They were using luxurious dog beds. But this was a horrendous introduction to people for these puppies. And far from not a nurturing, caring environment for such small creatures.
The days of puppies being sold in pet shops are now over. Thanks to Lucy’s Law, third-party sales of puppies and kittens under six months old is now illegal. This took effect in April 2020. It is always sad to see such an iconic pet shop disappear but not necessarily every part of it…