Update on DawgieBowl Services during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A note from our Founder

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as one of the worst global crisis in recent history. The rate at which the situation is escalating and the measures that the public administrations have to resolve to are hidden from none.
 
In line with the general health advisory of the Govt of India, DawgieBowl decided to suspend its services w.e.f. March 24th, 2020. As soon as the announcement was made, we were swamped with calls and messages from concerned patrons. We would like to assure everyone that we share their distress, and are working on getting our supply-chain functional at the earliest.

It was neither an impulsive nor an easy decision. It came about after a thorough analysis of the prevalent situation:
 
A nationwide curfew has been enforced from midnight on March 24th. Even though Animal Fodder has been listed as an Essential Service vide Ministry of Home Affairs’ Order No. 40-3/2020-D dated 24-03-2020, there’s still a lot of confusion and uncertainty with the ground staff.
 
The police in Noida and Delhi are providing e-passes for movement during the curfew but our application, like many others, is pending review. Until the passes are awarded, it’s impossible for our staff to travel to work, source raw materials, or deliver finished goods to our customers.
 
It is still unclear if these e-passes will allow us to operate in the Industrial Area. The Noida Authority is yet to issue advisory on the functioning of essential services and their auxiliary industries. All manufacturing units, including ours, have been forced shut under the threat of penalties and punishment.
 
Some of our ingredients are sourced from other states. We are not sure yet how that will pan out. Our delivery partner, FedEx has also suspended services in the wake of the lockdown. Without their support, our outstation deliveries stay impacted. As of now, everyone is in a state of widespread panic and confusion; and no clear answers are available yet.
 
Frequent power cuts act as another deterrent to our process. Since the power loads in Industrial Areas have reduced, the power corporation is redirecting the energy to residential areas that are currently on peak demand. Our process is completely dependent on electricity. An unplanned power cut could result in the loss of valuable process time or even perish of the finished product.
 
Apart from all these, the health and safety of our staff, their families and the community at large still stay our top concern.
 
That said, we’re working tirelessly to secure necessary clearances and permits from all concerned authorities and hope to resume our operations at the earliest.
 
We are working with our vendors to arrange supplies of essential raw material from other states. We are also in talks with logistic providers to resume the nationwide delivery of our product. But we expect some delay before these are sorted out.
 
We are procuring necessary personal protective equipment, and have already purchased due insurance plans to protect our staff members and their families from COVID-19.
 
Our marketing team is working hard to generate literature that will help pet parents around the world through the next few weeks, especially in the unfortunate circumstances of quarantine or hospitalization.
 
Our subscription customers have surplus food supplies to last for the next couple of weeks. And we hope to get back to work before that stock runs out. But in the event that fails to happen, our team is working on a set of backup options for our customers too. Please be assured, we will not let your pets suffer.
 
We are facing one of the biggest healthcare emergencies the world has ever faced. But we will overcome this, together.
 
I anticipate your support and cooperation through these tough times. Stay at home, stay safe!
 
– Abhishek Agarwal
   Founder & Chief Dawgie