Letting go not always easy: Pet vendors

Letting go not always easy: Pet vendors

By Poltak Hotradero

JAKARTA (JP): The common principle in business is "Don't get
attached emotionally to what you sell." Sure it is easy, if what
you sell are vegetables or furniture, but in the case of street
pet traders it's not an easy thing to do.

Just listen to Herman Hutagalung, a 31-year-old street pet
trader in Jl. Cimahi, Menteng, Central Jakarta, explain how to
avoid being sentimental in business. "My principle is: to love is
to let go," he said.

He admitted that at first it is not easy to remain unattached
to the pets he sells. "But after few times I realized the pets
would have a better life with the new owner than they have with
me," he said.

Herman is one of several street pet traders operating on Jl.
Cimahi. He has been selling pets for about 10 years. "At first I
was very ashamed of what I do. I always told my neighbors that
I'm just an ordinary street trader," said Herman.

Having to make a living to support his wife and daughter, he
gradually realized that being ashamed of his livelihood would not
get him anywhere in the business.

Coming from a big family of 13 brothers and sisters, he never
envisioned that his bread-and-butter would be selling pets.

He finished school at STM 1 Jakarta (Technical High School)
after spending his childhood in Medan, North Sumatra.

"After finishing my schooling, I worked in a cardboard factory
in Rawa Buaya Cengkareng district in West Jakarta for several
months," he said.

The job wasn't what he expected. "The managers were too stingy
and paid their workers only Rp 1,050 (US$0.47) per day. I
couldn't stand to live on such a low wage so I quit," he said.

After spending some time working at a plantation and on a ship
in Sumatra and Kalimantan, he went back to Jakarta and began life
as a street pet trader.

"Being a street pet trader isn't easy. My biggest threat comes
from the city's law and order officers, who sometimes come and
ask for `protection fees' of Rp 5,000 to Rp 10,000," he said.

Big events like the Non-Aligned Movement forum two years ago
and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting last year spelt
disaster for Herman. The law and order officers didn't come for
"protection fees" but to seize any street traders' merchandise,
including Herman's pets, to make Jakarta clean and tidy.

Once seized, there was no way to get the pets back, said
Herman. "They said they took my pets to the temporary animal
shelter in Ragunan Zoo, but I never saw them there. Maybe they
sold them themselves," he said. He said that he once lost 18
puppies just in one raid conducted by the officers.

"The head of Menteng District is also our enemy. He was quoted
by newspapers as saying that our pets carry rabies. That's not
true. My pets even don't have any fleas, how come he said they
carry rabies?" he asked.

Taking care of pets is the key to his business. "Puppies tend
to get sick easily. In one week, about one puppy will get sick
and sometimes die. That's why my profit margin is so narrow," he
said.

"Their illnesses are usually stress or diarrhea. I give them
medicines for humans in small dosages to cure them. Sometimes
they get better, but on other occasions they get worse and die,"
Herman said.

Besides the health of his pets, their food also consumes a lot
of Herman's money. "Sometimes the quality of their food is equal
to what I eat," Herman said, adding that he gives his pets rice
mixed with boiled chicken innards or bandeng fish.

How does he get the puppies?

Herman said that a trader from a dog breeder in Ciloto or
Padalarang in West Java comes and offers puppies to sell. Most of
them are crossbreeds of German Shepherds, Dobermans, Miniature
Pinschers, or Pekingese. For a German Shepherd puppy, they ask
for Rp 150,000 (US$68.18), which Herman will later sell for Rp
200,000. Pekingese are offered at Rp 75,000 and Miniature
Pinschers at Rp 40,000.

Another way to obtain dogs or cats is to buy them from pet
owners. "But I try to ask them for the lowest price because I
don't want to buy stolen dogs or cats," Herman said.

Is there any other pet that Herman sells? "Yes, sometimes I
sell Angora cats, but the supplies are very limited. I also used
to sell Siamang monkeys about two years ago, but I stopped
selling the monkey after the government put siamang on the
endangered species list," he said. He admitted that selling the
monkeys for Rp 200,000 gave him a hefty profit, "But I can't take
the risk of being put out of business because of selling an
endangered animal."

His monthly profit usually reaches Rp 100,000 to Rp 200,000,
as long as there are no raids by the law and order officers. "But
if a raid is launched, all my merchandise vanishes, and I have to
get money by pawning anything I have to start the business
again," he said.

Will selling pets become his last job?

"I'm dreaming of opening a pet shop of my own, complete with
animal care facilities. I'm going to fulfill my dream one day,"
Herman said.

And of course Herman will have to let his pets go one by one.
Even if he loves each of them. Because they will have a better
life.