Providing services for the furred and the
four-legged finds favor with several animal lovers
Farrokh Jijina
The community’s abiding love for domestic animals harks back to ancient times. Chom-e shwa (meal for the dog) in Persian or kutra-no buk (morsel for the dog) in Gujarati reflects the custom prevalent in Zoroastrian households of yore to feed their canine friends before appeasing the human appetite. "The cow and the dog…both came, not only to share their ordinary lives, but also to have part in their religious beliefs and practices which in due course became part of the heritage of Zoroastrianism,” explained Prof Mary Boyce in A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism.
This is manifest in the animal shelters, pet......