Bollywood actor, entrepreneur and animal lover, Dino Morea, attended Pet Fed Bengaluru 2019 last Sunday at the Jayamahal Palace Hotel grounds. He interacted with pets, their parents and talked about the importance of pets in one’s life.Metrolife caught up with the actor where he told us about his connection with Bengaluru and his love for animals. How long have you had your pets?I’ve had pets ever since I was a kid. We had dogs, squirrels, chickens and even cows in the neighbourhood buildings. I’ve grown up around animals. Once every two months, I used to visit the forests around Bengaluru, Mysore and Mudumalai.How would you describe your relationship with your pets?They are like my children. I take care of them, feed them, walk them and also train them. I do everything I would do if I had a kid.Many NGOs in Bengaluru support adoption of stray dogs. Your thoughts?I completely support for that since I, too, have adopted a stray dog. Stray dogs are hardy dogs, they are beautiful and very docile. Adopting stops the horrible practice of breeding. It is so rampant and not done right. Yes, everybody wants a fancy breed of dog, because they think it is cool. But to some, it is like buying a new toy. You eventually lose interest and abandon them. That’s why I recommend adopting; there are so many that need love.You grew up in the city. What are some of your fondest memories?Oh my god, there are so many! I studied here. I went to Bangalore Military School, then Clarence High School and finally graduated from St Joseph’s College. Everything about this city then was fun. I played a lot of sports, hung out with friends and went on dates. MG Road, Brigade Road and Commercial Street were the cool places back then. This city was everything I knew until I moved to Mumbai. It made me the person I am today.Now that you live in Mumbai, which city feels more like home?Well, my home is in Mumbai. That’s where I’ve built my life. If Bengaluru hadn’t changed, I would’ve definitely come back here, but it has changed for the worse. The Bangalore I remember was clean and green with beautiful old houses. The way the city has grown is terrible. I come here only because my folks are here.We haven’t really seen much of you since ‘Solo’ (2018). Tell us something about your upcoming projects.I’m working on three web series right now. One is with Amazon Prime and the script is fantastic, but I cannot reveal the name yet. I’m doing ‘Hostages Season 2’ for Hotstar and ‘Mentalhood’ for ALTBalaji. I’m also producing a movie called ‘Helmet’. We start shooting next month and we’ve got a fabulous script. It should release by next year.What about Pet Fed 2019 impressed you the most?The fact that there is a pet festival happening in the city is very impressive. Nobody is doing a pet carnival of this size in the country. This event brings people together under one venue and encourages them to learn about animals.