This space is for flaunting your pet…

Feel free to write to us and send us pictures/videos of your pet along with a write-up.

we’ll only be glad to feature him/her here.

Regards

dogadoption.in@gmail.com

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MAXIE AND RUDY

Three years ago if people had told us that my husband and I would be the parents of two beautiful dogs, we would not have believed them. Our journey towards parenthood began with a frantic call from my mother from Hyderabad. My brother was to shift to Philippines and there was no way they could take a 4 month old puppy with them. They were heart broken but were looking for a good home. I volunteered. My mother tried to deter me. My husband and I were working and there was no way we could cope. But we were very sure that we wanted to do this. Maxie who was 5 months old took a plane and came to Delhi. He loved my husband immediately and turned traitor. I was there in the periphery of his life but my husband was the centre of his life. He was beautiful. I saw him grow up to become the most beautiful golden Labrador that ever was (Well I may be a little biased but not too much). I trained Maxie myself. Of course as first time parents we messed up a lot. But Maxie grew up to be a well adjusted, kind hearted, soft spoken dog. But there was a problem in his behaviour. He would not stay alone at home. He would start barking the moment we stepped out of the house. Somehow the fear of getting abandoned had probably become etched in his psyche. We tried everything; toys, treat. Nothing worked. He wanted us period. And I am not talking about long hours of separation. Even if I ran down to the neighbourhood shop or took my Mom out shopping, Max would take the area by storm.

RUDY

My Mom was staying with me at that point but she was planning on shifting back to Kolkata very soon. I was dreading it. At that time I came across an advertisement for adoption of a litter of 5 INdogs. I went immediately and picked one up I always wanted to have an Indian dog). I thought, maybe responsibility and companionship may ease Maxie’s tension. It did and we got an addition to our household. Rudy the red nosed doggy, with the whitest coat I had ever seen. He was beautiful. Three weeks old when I got him but the smartest dog on earth. He grew up to love Maxie with one big problem. He was territorial and therefore was aggressive where his food was concerned. This was evident when he was two months old and Maxie after eating his own dinner went to sniff at Rudy’s. Rudy growled at Maxie so loudly we all got scared. Rudy’s distrust towards other dogs also manifested when Maxie was attacked by a German Shepherd living in our area. He isn’t the most trustworthy dog where other dogs are concerned. He’s happy in his own world with his Mama, Papa and Bhai.

MAX

I won’t say that my dogs are the most brilliant, well trained, dogs in the world. They are not perfect. They have their hang ups but don’t we all! Maxie will never heel and Rudy lunges at people and dogs. We do not condone their behaviour but are trying to correct it. But one thing is certain. Their love towards us is unconditional and they accept us as we are. And we can never thank them enough for giving us the opportunity of being parents.

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Our little Indian angel

PROUD INDIAN

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PLS PLS SEE THIS VIDEO!!! Thank you Jasmine for sending us this video - (dogadoption.in team)

a video which i had made when 1 of the puppies i took care of passed away  . . . . Her mother died a few months ago due to a snake bite . . . . Her sister Patches has been spayed and her sister Iris will be taken to Jeevashram this week. to view the video click on -

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<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>My dog’s name is Pinky. She is 4 yrs old now. I found her on an open ground in front of my house with 2 of her brothers when they were hardly a month old. Someone must have left those puppies in that extreme heat of October with no water and food. The puppies could hardly even walk. I heard the puppies crying with hunger, thirst and fear. Me n neighbor went out and brought those puppies in. one of the puppies was adopted by my friend and I had two. A male and a female. We named them Jimi and Pinky. It was very difficult at first to take care of them because none of my family members were willing to have those street dogs as our pets and then a miracle happened. I don’t know what magic Jimi and Pinky did on my parents, that just after few months they both became a part of our family. They were so wonderful growing together. Jimi turned out to be a very strong n healthy male dog. With a little aggression, he started acting like a protector of my entire family. While Pinky turned to be a beautiful and graceful female dog with lot of love and compassion and a motherly nature.

After just 11 months a very sad and unfortunate thing happened. My poor Jimi was no more. He was poisoned. We have no idea why and who did this brutal deed but now we knew that someone has a serious problem having these dogs in the neighborhood. It was an example of how inconvenient people are with the street dogs and my Jimi had to suffer that but now we are extra extra careful about Pinky and we want to loose her at any cost. But the situation changed slowly. My neighbors started to like Pinky. She is an adorable dog. I think of her as the God’s sweetest gift to me. She is my child.

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Pinky has done few marvelous jobs for which I am very proud of her. I would like to mention one story here.

My Pinky saved a kid in our neighborhood from getting kidnapped. One day in the afternoon she was sitting by the gate of house watching the movements outside and one of her friends was with her – a stray dog. A man, around 50ft away from Pinky, was trying to kidnap one 8 yrs old kid. I don’t know how Pinky knew that something is going wrong there. She and her friend ran after that man barking aggressively, and just within a minute, that man left that child and ran away.

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This is just one story. I don’t know how many times she has saved us and the neighborhood from being robbed. Everyone around us is now proud of her and is glad to have her. She has, in fact, inspired many people to adopt a stray dog by giving the best example of how good a stray dog can be as a pet.

I can not say how lucky I am to have her. She is the most beautiful, loving, adorable dog I have ever met. Even words are very less to describe her. God bless her always.

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One sunny morning, I met a nameless wounded doggy in our garden. Sometime in the night, he had sneaked in through one of the boundary wall which was broken. People warned me about his dangerous nature. He was weak and thin, full of scabies and one of his eyes was injured. Apparently he was very vicious and attacked everyone who approached him. So people usually beat him up if he came near them. But looking at his appearance, I felt a strange love and sympathy for him. He looked at me with his injured eyes as if to say” Please, Help”. Next day I met him again. He was waiting for me outside the gate as if he knew that I would not hurt him. He happily wagged his tail and I knew I had a friend in him. But he was still weary of the humans and when I tried to feed him he ran away.

But the next day he was waiting for me outside the gate again. The reason probably would be that I was the only person who didn’t kick him, punch him and pelt him with stones. Watching his injured body, my heart ached with sadness and I felt a strange love towards him. I promised myself that I would take care of him and help him get better. I told him, “Don’t worry my friend. Someday you will be as strong as a tiger. It’s a promise.” I named him Bagh (Tiger).I think he understood and wagged his tail.

I kept my promise. With a tough but gentle approach I succeeded in convincing the local people that Bagh attacked only in self defense and requested people not to hurt him. Meanwhile I started his medication. Living in a small town, with no means of conveyance it was not an easy task to take him to the veterinarian. I consulted various doctors and started giving him medication on my own. He started living in our compound.

Today he lives happily in the colorful shade in our garden and, eats his favourite food; biscuits for breakfast, Fish curry and rice for lunch and dinner. Six months have passed. Today he is a healthy and happy dog. His injuries have healed. He’s beautiful and brown. My regret is that one of his eyes is still not getting cured. But the treatment is going on. He has become the watch dog for our locality. With his newly found girl friend Ruby”, he guards the locality at night.

If I am not mistaken they are going to be the proud parents of some good looking puppies, for Ruby is also a strikingly good looking creature.

I am happy and thank God everyday for the friend that I was given.

Nandita Bhowmik

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PATCHES

Last year I adopted a ‘stray’ dog. An odd looking fellow, he had odd black patches against a stark white coat. My sister instantly named him Patch the first time she met him on the day we brought him home. People still call him a stray dog – my friends, my family, his dog walker, the vet. I no longer understand or accept that he is a ‘stray’ – he has a home now. He has a family.

I have always been a dog lover or so I told myself. In the recent years, I have tried to help some lost or abandoned dog, fed a stray dog sometimes, made friends with the strays in my colony. It looked funny to people I didn’t know and thoughtful to those who knew me. The whole feeling rubbed off on my husband who had always been a dog lover too. Exactly a year later after we got him, Patch spotted a lost puppy during his evening walk and promptly informed my husband by furiously tugging at his leash, trying to sniff out the puppy with his snorts and thumping his tail against Vipul’s calves. The dark colored puppy would have merged with the background in the bushes that night. Obviously Patch was feeling victorious. After a long look, however, they both decided against doing anything – the mother will come for him they thought.

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–> <!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>The next morning, Patch and Vipul were taking their routine walk. Patch rushed to the spot and inspected it again. Same frenzy and excitement – the puppy was still there.

They both could see the poor little thing more clearly now and decided to bring the fellow home just to give him a sip of water and some milk. Vipul got him in and swore to find him a loving home. He feared I would never let the puppy go. He says he was right in his fear. I say he was wrong. It was he who couldn’t resist. Coco now lives with us.

He is a two and a half months old terror that breaks loose on Patch without warning every now and then. (Patch looks at us as if to say, look what I got myself into.)

“Why can’t people see that stray dogs make for intelligent and caring pets and are equally good if not better than thorough bred dogs”, I often say to my husband. “It makes no sense to play God and breed dogs when there are so many homeless ones. And the thorough breds are susceptible to systemic and genetic disorders because of the breeding.” Today, people who know me well think that Vipul and I are doing a great deed by giving a shelter to homeless dogs. “We are sterilizing the natural stray dogs and breeding others and putting canines in general at a huge risk” and so I continue to moralize.

And today when I sit down to recount my wonderful experience with dogs, the same dogs who the world thinks I have saved, have humbled me and made me lighter. I think about who I was and who I am and why I do what I do. That is why this is not a funny, cute little passage of my love for dogs.

I was about five or six when I had my first dog – a white Lhasa Apso called Don. My sister and I would play with him when we passed by the veranda, we would feed him goodies – Maggie and coffee were his favorites. It was never more than a passing pat or a hug because Don was practically perpetually tied to the veranda grill. When we moved to a bigger house, Don was the last item to be moved. I was entrusted with the task of bringing him. That day in the front seat of the car, I took Don in my lap for the first time and felt his affection for me. He rested his head on my shoulder. I could feel his fear of the car ride. He didn’t know where he was going but he clearly placed his trust in me. Strangely, Don had been with us for years but I got close to him much later. It was to be too little too late.

That year, we went to my grand parent’s home for the summer vacations. During a routine call to check on things, our servants informed my mother that Don had been attacked by a pack of stray dogs. We all felt a little sad for him and got back to the holiday mood. Two days later another call – Don had passed away.

When I was nine, my sister and I pestered my mother for a dog. A constable at my Father’s office dropped a cute puppy one day at home when he heard that we were eager to keep a pet. Candy was adorable and the constable told us he is probably a Labrador. But my hopes were dashed when Candy’s one ear started cocking up. According to me he was no longer cute. My sister and I didn’t play with him as much. We decided he must be a stray and that we didn’t want him anymore. We asked the constable to take him away to his village.

Then came Appu – a very cute and chubby fellow. He might have been our dream Labrador retriever. But the puppy had an odd habit of howling through the night. My mother’s friend termed him a bad omen as she believed a dog’s howl brought news of death. They can see Yama riding his buffalo and coming to take someone’s life, she told my mother. Next week, one night, our neighbor, the MLA passed away in his sleep. We blamed Appu. It never occurred to us that the MLA had a heart problem and was ailing anyway. Even if Appu could see Yama was it his fault? Wasn’t it a power? It also never occurred to us that a small puppy, he didn’t want to be tied to the iron table and spend the night all alone which is why he howled. Appu also went to a village.

A few months later, my Father called me from office and said he had a surprise for us. I couldn’t wait for him to get home and was waiting at the porch for his car to arrive. The moment he stepped out I flung myself on him and asked him what he had for me. He said, “open the car door and look into the front seat”. There at the foot of the seat was a puny little timid puppy. I couldn’t tell what color she was – brown or black or white? She was a German Spitz. My mother named her Sherry. Sherry was an adorable and sensitive dog but she too was not with us for long.

We moved to Delhi a year later and our new excuse was that it was difficult to keep her in a small flat. So we gave her away to a friend. I still remember how she used to wake me up every evening around 4 because she wanted to play with me in the lawn, pick at the flowers and just roll around with me in the grass. Those were my best days.

When I was 14, our yearning for a Lab was at its peak. My Father has never been a ‘dog-lover’ but he was completely against the way we treated the dogs we had earlier. However, we succeeded in our incessant pleadings one day. We finally found a pup in Bangalore who was flown down to Delhi. He wasn’t black as we wanted but golden. When he came home, we inspected him closely. We said he was too dark and furry to be a yellow Labrador. And oh dear, his ears don’t droop exactly – infact one of them is a little cocky. We later discovered that Kevin’s grandfather was a Golden Retriever so his lineage was not pure. But he had naughty and endearing ways.

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>There was never a thought of quitting on him because he never quit on me – never quit on us. When I studied through the night for my board exams, during my nervous preparations before the debate competitions in College, all the time, Kevin was with me in my room looking at me quizzically yet assuring me. The whole world thought me strange but not this guy. During my first break up (which is usually heart wrenching for not enough reasons), I turned very quiet and stopped playing with him as much. He waited patiently never giving up on me. Though he didn’t get his share of fun time for days on end, when I cried at night, he would walk up to my bed anxiously and wag his tail and lick my face to make me feel better.

Later Kevin moved to Sikkim with my parents and I stayed on in Delhi to work. My sister was in Mumbai. Kevin went through his own set of trials and tribulations – mostly alone. He met with an accident once which left a deep wound in his neck. On another occasion, he was mauled by a pack of foxes when he couldn’t fend for himself (this happened on the one occasion that Kevin was tied by the servants when my mother had come to visit me). He was a survivor and pulled through as soon as he saw that mother had returned from her trip to Delhi. But my sister and I could not be there for him at that time, unfortunately. Kevin never noticed that. He still receives us with a lot of affection and care. He is much younger to me but treats me like his little sister – growls at me when I cuddle him too much or tell him which direction to walk in. He will play catch with me if I want but give back the ball only if he feels like.

So that’s my story with the dogs in my life. Kevin is the biggest part of it. He now lives with my sister and brother in law and everyday I meet him I feel renewed.

You must be thinking I am guilty and I repent by helping dogs. I am not guilty. I am simply ready. I am ready to experience the warmth and greatness of dogs and learn from them. And the credit goes to my Kevin. Kevin taught me that every dog has his/ her own character and they have a legacy and story they will not really tom-tom about. That character and depth goes beyond the length of the ears or tail, the color of the coat and such like. He taught me that a dog is not a ‘pet’ but a ‘partner’, that they are not ‘strays’ but homeless. If you want a dog, please be ready for a relationship – its demanding and rewarding. Please don’t insult their intellect by tying them up. I later realized that it was because my other dogs were tied by us that I couldn’t experience their friendship or let them develop their character and learn. Tying up your partner is the cruelest thing to do – to them and yourself.

I have always believed that Love is the greatest religion – not the love for your own blood but the love for another – and it is through love that we find God. Because it is Love alone that can make us change and become better human beings. Kevin taught me that. If we could do what dogs can do, the world would be a different place – forgive without knowing the reasons, bear no grudge, accept everyone for what they are, have no self pity and a lot of self respect but no ego, there is much to learn from your canine partner. So I hope if you are reading this till now, you won’t shy away from a little responsibility.

Kevin surely changed me and for the better. So what I do today is not repentance or my guilt in action. It is who I am. I am not great in helping dogs; I have found greatness in their character and the mature relationship they are capable of. Very honestly, I don’t know where Don, Candy, Appu and Sherry are but if I were to meet them, they will receive me with the same warmth. They have already forgiven me and I am humbled by them.

Recently, when I was battling with depression, I gave up on Patch one time too many. He never gave up on me. I have gotten over it now and we share a special bond not threatened by our latest addition to the family. Today, with Coco and Patch at home, I itch to get out of office on time because I know I’ll get to play with them when I come back. It takes away all my pain and stress. Just to watch them fills me with joy and peace.

In my life, it hasn’t always been about what my parents taught me but also what I learnt along the way. All the dogs and the strays I interacted with left a patch on me and made me realize I am a little black and a little white too.

So I don’t know who helped whom. I do know I can’t be like them but I can atleast try.

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I now know from experience that Indian dogs are no different from pure breds. They learn fast and turn out to be sturdy, healthy companions. Patch is a sensitive and obedient dog. All puppies will be naughty but having watch Patch grow into a lovely boy who has warmly accepted Coco, I have no doubt his ways will teach Coco a lot too.

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MILO IS WELL SETTLED IN THE U.S.

This is a brilliant piece of news that I’m excited about sharing with all animal lovers.

Milo was a 6 month old Indian mix who needed to be rehomed immediately as his family was leaving for U.K. As luck would have it David Eaton from Maine(U.S.) came and adopted him and right now Milo is enjoying utmost love,care and freedom with David at his new home.

Many people told me that U.S. was strict about getting dogs into the country and that there was a quaratine procedure that needed to be followed and I honestly was scared to send him then. But at that point David and I search a lot online and got in touch with people who had adopted Indian dogs from India and taken them to the U.S.

what we did learn was that U.S. does not follow a quarantine program. All one needs to do is get the dog the vaccination shots along with the boosters. also, a vet certificate which says that the dog is healthy and up to date with his vaccinations. then with the vaccination card,vet health certificate, flight details & the dog one goes to the ‘Quarantine & certification Services’ in Delhi to get an export certificate. once all is done you can take your pet along with you. this is the procedure that we followed for Milo.

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Meet Casper!

I have brought up doggies before but never such a naughty Lhasa Apso.He is naughtiness personified! This 3 month old doesn’t have to go looking for trouble, trouble finds him! Casper is a perfect combination of charm, good looks and mischief! He seeks rather craves attention from everyone and he’s got some temperament. If you want to tease him, make sure you have your running shoes on! He has a sixth sense, this instinct, he recognizes anyone who loves dogs and likes them instantaneously and doesn’t even bother to look at the ones who are not fond of his kind!
He loves playing Fetch though he doesn’t understand the word but throw him a ball and see him gliding to grab it and come back with equal hurry to jump into your lap and start gnawing at it! Oh and he’s one big shocker for chewing everything he can lay his tiny paws on including my hands! I just love it when I come back from a visit out and he starts singing his solo in all the possible notes he can! I’d just love to know what all that barking and yelping means when Casper sees me. Barking! tail wagging, running all over the place… I like to think that all that ruckus means he’s glad I’m back home. He should be! No matter how long a day I’ve had, I know I’m sure glad to see him anytime!

Sejal Khanna

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LALEE

I always jump at any chance to show Lalee off to people, so I must thank Malleka for giving me this opportunity to praise her for the umpteenth time.

Obviously we all adore our dogs and think them the best in the world. Lalee gives me so many reasons to believe INDogs are the best breed, and that she is the best INDog ever (okay okay, don’t beat me up – I know there are hundreds of equally great ones out there)!

Lalee

What is really special about her is that WITHOUT any training she has absolutely beautiful manners and can be taken out anywhere. I can rely on her never to embarrass me by fighting with another dog or growling at a child, for instance. She has frequently been to dinner parties with me (to dog lovers’ homes of course), and even a café allowed her in once.

Her intelligence and loyalty would match any purebred dog. When we go to our seaside home near Alibagh, she absolutely refuses to go the beach without me – even if my husband is taking her! One time I sneaked off without her to explore a wooded area near the beach. After about twenty minutes I looked behind me – there, some distance away, was this very familiar doughnut-shaped tail. I wondered how a dog so similar to Lalee had suddenly turned up there. Then I realized it really was Lalee, sniffing the ground and tracking me down! I am planning to test her sniffing and tracking abilities by sneaking off again on my next trip there. I am trying to persuade my husband to bring her out on a leash some time later and see where she goes.

Of course like most INDogs she is a very good watchdog, though she sometimes overdoes it a bit – like trying to chase away the man who brings the gas cylinders – but she can always be called to order with a reprimand.

I never taught Lalee any of the usual tricks, and people who ask her to “sit” or “shake hands” are met with a surprised stare. But she has been taught the most important thing, much more important than doing cute things to amuse guests, and that is coming back to me whenever she is called. At one time I thought she would never learn this. Lalee was born in a golf course and has a great love of wide open spaces. Once unleashed on the beach she would run far away until she was just a speck in the distance. I would shout myself hoarse but for all the attention she paid me I might as well not have existed. The usual trick of “walk away and she will follow” simply did not work. I walked and walked, but turning back I saw Lalee becoming a smaller and smaller dot on the horizon, until I could no longer tell whether she was a dog at all. Each and every walk would end with me grumpily going all the way back to catch her. Then I read somewhere that dogs obey a deep voice because they associate it with a big animal. So I unleashed her, let her run a short distance, managed to say “Lalee!” in a pretty good baritone, and she instantly switched to docile submissive body language and came back to me! Now she knows that whenever I use That Voice she must do as she is told, so there are no more obedience problems.

I’m always amazed at the way she changes her behaviour to suit me. She is always looking at me to figure out my likes and dislikes, to judge what she can get away with and what is going to get her scolded or smacked (yes, she does get the odd smack on the rump on rare occasions). For instance, left to herself she would definitely chase or even injure cats. But right now I have two cats in the house (Tabby and MiniPini from the WSD kennel, both recovering from leg injuries). And Lalee is completely ignoring them as they wander around in front of her. Of course I lock the cats in another room when I am not at home, I’m not sure I could trust her out of my sight.

She is really and truly my kind of dog – extremely independent, not very demanding or attention-seeking, not too clingy, but at the same time very very affectionate. I have a feeling that if I became a dog, I would be Lalee. So you see, we are obviously perfect for each other.

Rajashree Khalap