Bozo

"I'm two months old today!"



Bozo sunbathing



"Lemme relax..."

She was born on the 15th of December 2007 in a park just behind our flat in Lajpat Nagar. She was one of four pups. One of them died right after its birth but thank God, the rest did fine. We used to watch the pups following their mother from our second floor balcony - it was so amusing seeing their games and fighting tactics!!

Two of the three pups eventually got lost and one fine morning (it was on January 26) while I was taking driving lessons on the main road just behind our colony, my eyes suddenly fell on a small round puffball lying still in the middle of the road. My heart took a leap as I anticipated the worst and immediately stopped my car. I got down just to find a very bewildered and trauma-stricken pup; I checked immediately to see if she had been hurt but luckily she was all right. If you have any idea of 'dilli ki sardi' (Delhi cold), you can imagine what she was going through. January 26 was one of the chilliest days of this season and due to cold and shock the fragile little thing couldn't stop shivering! The moment I put her in the back seat of my car and started the heater she immediately fell asleep.

First I thought of taking her back to her mother and leaving her there. But after I reached our colony, parked the car and put her on my lap, I saw her sound asleep like a small baby...and I felt a strong affection for her. I have always been an ardent animal lover - there was a time when I had fourteen cats in my home and when I was a kid we had a German Shepherd too. All those old feelings got revived at her touch and from that moment onwards she has been the little and invaluable jewel of my life. Since all the clinics were shut on January 26 for Republic Day, we took her to the vet the very next day and got her vaccinated. So that's how we adopted our Bozo.

Today she is a completely spoilt brat nearly four months old. She has been a bundle of joy for us. Although her favourite food is dry food, she simply can’t resist raw carrots and tomatoes. There have been numerous funny incidents when I found these vanishing from my vegetable basket (!!) and had to start keeping them out of her reach. With summer approaching I started giving her curd, she loves that too. Any kind of fruit and juice is appealing to her but banana has remained her favourite. Lately she has developed a new habit of growling at strangers, but once her typical formal introduction is over, she is an overtly friendly dog.

Sreya Roy
Delhi