A dog cafe in Khar where people can pay Rs 400 as entry fee to interact with pedigree dogs in a designated “cuddle zone” is currently under the scanner of several animal authorities and animal protection agencies after a former employee of the cafe uploaded a viral video on social media that shows the dogs being kept inside cramped cages stacked against the wall.

The video uploaded by Dimple Bhatia on her Instagram account on Monday has been liked and shared by over 25,000 people so far. Bhatia, who has worked at the cafe for more than two years, also wrote to Meet Ashar, associate manager of PETA India’s Emergency Response Team, stating that “the concept displayed to people” visiting the cafe is that of “spending an hour with 25 expensive breeds of dogs in the name of a therapy session” but the reality was quite different. She alleged that the dogs were made to stay in the “cuddle zone” for over nine hours at a stretch and were kept in cages for more than 11 hours a day. She added that the dogs were fed less “because the owner tries to save food cost”.