“I rescued her one year ago. She was badly injured, very skinny and almost had no hair at that time,” she said, cradling the toy dog close to her chest.

Nani said the dog was seen shaking under a row of cars in her housing complex for several days, so she decided to take her in and look after her.

After a grueling month at the vet and a year of being on a carefully watched diet and medication, Coco has bloomed into a groomed dog, showing her true Pekingese beauty with long shiny hair and a healthy weight.

“If you have decided to get a pet, you have to be dedicated and consistent. A pet’s life is totally dependent on its human,” she said.

According to Jakarta Indonesia Pet Expo spokesperson Ika Angelia R. Silalahi, knowing about and understanding animal welfare was important for pet owners to make sure their animal family members are healthy.

“We’ve seen that having pets as a hobby has been a for the last few years, but many times, people do not know how to differentiate between a hobby involving only inanimate objects and a hobby involving living creatures,” she told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The expo aims to educate the public and animal lovers on being better pet owners, thus its theme, Your Pet Deserves the Best Care and Good Welfare, Ika said.

“The show is a one-stop education center for pet owners, where they can learn about necessary vaccinations and the best pet food and also consult with vets,” she said.

Organizers targeted to attract 40,000 human visitors and 30,000 pet visitors in the three-day event, which began on Friday.

Visitors like Nina who brought their pets to the show had to stop at a vet-checking point before entering the venue, ensuring that their animals were free of diseases and fleas. Pet owners were also required to produce their vaccine record book.

If an on-duty vet believed that a pet was unfit to enter the exhibition space, organizers provided a quarantine center watched by vets and volunteers so that the owner could still visit the exhibition.

Visitors also had to clean after their own pets, Ika said, adding that cleaning solution, tissue paper as well as pet toilets were provided in several corners of the event.

This way, she explained, pet owners were encouraged to do the same when bringing their animals to public spaces.

The annual exhibition, which occupied a 10,000-square-meter area of three halls in JIExpo Kemayoran, showcased domesticated animals ranging from cats, dogs, ponies and rabbits to reptiles, birds and spiders.

Visitors packed the venue from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m,, turning the space into a massive petting zoo where people could freely pet other people’s pets as well as admire animals on display.

“Visitors, especially children, are mostly attracted to visit the interaction booths for horses, rabbits, chickens and cats,” Ika said.

In the petting zoo area, children had the chance to feed rabbits and chicken, ride ponies as well as play with cats in some designated areas.

At the event, a booth from the Jakarta Maritime, Fisheries and Food Resilience Agency (KPKP) also provided vaccine and ID microchip services for pets for free.

“It’s good that Jakarta is already rabies free, but we want to keep it that way. Pet owners should know that rabies vaccinations expire after one year, so they have to keep track of the time to keep their pets safe,” Ika said.

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