Oleg Avanesov, Founder of KeepPet:
"My experience with pets is amusing as I haven't bought any of the three cats I have - they all found me and decided they wanted to be part of my family.
Before that, I always perceived cats as something that you better not touch and, if you're lucky, they wouldn't have touched you either in return. But with my first cat, Vasilisa, everything changed. She taught me that cats could become part of your family and have a specific relation and behavior with each of its members, precisely as humans do.
After Vasilisa, Sonya and Klyopa joined my wife and me in moments of our lives when we less expected. As I learned, it just takes to choose stairs instead of an elevator or walk near your summer house to meet and fall in love with these little creatures.
It's crazy if you think about it, but pets can change your attitude towards life and others, eventually making a better human of you - I don't miss a chance to give some food to stray cats wandering around my building. I'm not indifferent anymore to pets in need, and helping them has become my passion and objective."
Nairi Akopian, CEO of KeepPet:
"My girlfriend and I share the love for one puppy. Visha is an English Cocker Spaniel.
She loves being in the center of attention. She irresistibly licks your face in the morning when you're still in bed. She enjoys digging holes. A usual dog, someone would say.
The truth is, Visha is a challenge seeker. Born in Europe, in Kaliningrad, she is a free spirit. A 1.5 years old puppy of pure energy, relentlessly curious about life, always searching for something new to learn from the surroundings. And nothing comes without challenges.
A descendant of a real champion in dog competitions, her DNA proves she wants to keep the flag flying. Just after a few months, the first obstacle surfaced - Moving to LA. Have you tried to cross the border with a pet? No? Well, that's a lot of bureaucracy!
Taking her to another country has been proven to be a challenging experience, indeed, but she made it. Every time I look at her running through the sands of the coast, her happy smile when following me to investments meetings, or just walking by my side at sunset, it just makes me proud, incredibly proud. It was worth the challenge.
She's like a living representation of freedom and self-empowerment. It's right to say I learned a bit from her, and I put the same theory at work with the KeepPet project: seeing a possibility and going right towards it, knowing that the journey won't be easy, but the outcome... the outcome it's worth all the time invested. Visha is an English Cocker Spaniel, but to me, she is a winner."
Anastasia Myasnikova, COO of KeepPet:
"I had several-super-intelligent German Shepherds in my country house, where my grandparents live. But the concept of having a pet, especially at home, in an apartment in a busy city, was always a challenging one.
After moving to another country and exploring more and more aspects of the animal world, i've found more ways to help pets in need without violating rental agreements. For example, last, my team came up with the idea of giving the money to animal support instead of buying gifts. We made donations to "The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" and "Save the Dogs and Other Animas". In a few weeks to celebrate Women's Day, women in our company received a long-distance adoption gift: a nine-year-old dog with the code name "Tramp" who lives in Romania. We receive updates about Tramp once in a while, and every time the messages make me smile. It's hard to combine immigration and pet-owning, but even in this case, one can always find a way to help animals worldwide.
And probably, that's why for KeepPet is not about being a pet owner, but being a responsible human being".
Yakov Kornyakov, CTO of KeepPet:
"My pet is named Bonya, an adorable and timid rabbit.
It all started when a friend of mine decided to move out of her apartment. With her, even the two small pets had to find a new home. Bonya found me.
I've always been afraid of not being capable of being a good pet owner. I knew that having a dog or a cat would have required a high level of responsibility - but I just wanted some company without a serious commitment.
What would you expect from a small rabbit? Silence. And that's what I got. Bonya seemed a great solution. He was giving me company without asking to be walked around on a leash. He was not meowing for food. He was not making a mess of my flat. Perfection, you'd say. I felt like I changed my life for the good, but the truth was that Bonya did that.
In fact, Bonya was silent, yes, but I was not indifferent to it.
In the past, I used to skip lunch many times to pursue fun activities like watching a TV show or playing games with PC, but with Bonya, everything changed. I knew I needed time to take care of and feed him.
The silence I was looking for has slowly started to make me more responsible towards a pet that was not showing its needs but definitely had them. At some point, I just realized Bonya made me into the person I was afraid to become - a responsible pet parent.
Bonya found me, but it is better to say that I found him."
Alyona Strelnikova, Marketing Manager at KeepPet:
"I can't recall a moment of my life when my family and I didn't share the space with a furry friend. Time is moving on, and now I live in Ireland, far away from my hometown, my parents, and even Emily - our nine-month-old Pekingese puppy that recently entered our hearts.
I still haven't had the opportunity to see her in real, unfortunately. However, I love watching her through the smartphone when catching up with my mom and dad. She is such an adventurous pet and looks really kind, communicative, and of course, super cute! I love her!
I'm so much looking forward to meeting her, and thank this little puppy. It's been only nine months, but I can feel Emily brought enormous happiness to our family. That's unbelievable."
Massimiliano, Creative Manager at KeepPet:
"My cat is called Samantha, and she's coming straight from a cattery.
The day she entered my life, she decided to do it in her own style (like basically anything she does) - she climbed the fence of her cage and looked straight in my eyes. To me, it was clear, she was the one. Luck wanted that Samantha was not just a pet.
Since we met throughout the 11 years, she's been like a human advisor to my family and me. Her body language, her presence near you during the day, her ability to look at you and speak. Ah, yes, because Samantha speaks. She says "yes", "no", "why", "why no?" And "I don't care". All in different ways using a mewl modulation that sounds like "Mech".
Samantha's beauty is that she's extremely human, and any action she does becomes a story instantly. At dinner time, one of the best topics is always "you know what Sam did today?". And she stares at us, from a distance, as she knows we speak of her. It happens so often that we joke about returning her the cattery to receive our 20 euro back, the money given as a donation. She pretends to be naive, but she is extremely smart, and I bet she often judges us.
Samantha is not just a pet, she is like a best friend, probably the most mind-scattered you have, always next to you for a laugh. If she were to read this, she'd probably be sulking three days straight. And that would be another story to remember."
Polina Rant, Social Media Manager at KeepPet:
"My love goes all to Margo. She is a beautiful three-colored cat that entered my life when I was just a child.
Spending years with my pet, I experienced the weight of stereotypes attributed to cats on my skin. Self-sufficient? - Yes, she is. Kind of a loner, always immersed in her thoughts? - Yes, she is. Becoming extremely nice and talkative whenever she's about to get food? - Hell yeah, absolutely!
Almost anyone believes that cats are either very open with anyone, even those outside the family circle. Otherwise, they're very introverted and get easily scared when a stranger appears nearby. I have to say Margo is a bit of an exception. At first, as a not-identified-human-being enters the house, she looks terrified, hiding behind couches or armchairs - and there she stays for a pretty long time. However, if you give her enough time, she slowly gets curious and interested in what's going on around the house. Eventually, she can become super-tender, so much that she might turn into your new best friend.
That's what happened with almost anyone who knows her by now. She definitely is a proper Cat with a capital C, but surely she is a lovely cutie with her own weirdness. We definitely can't imagine our house without her around."