The girls

Lalee and Puppy on a rare walk together. Puppy is 13 and rather slow, so she isn't walked with Lalee since their pace is different. Read about Puppy and how she joined our family here.

She has put on 2 kilos since we adopted her. Her walks are brief and dedicated almost solely to "answering Nature's call," as the newspapers put it here.

The scars on Puppy's left side are the remnant of bad burns she got while sleeping under a taxi many years ago. Probably from an overheated silencer.

Lalee's walks on the other hand are mostly sniffing expeditions and most of her time is spent in tracking the scents of her dog friends and acquaintances. Quite a bit of territorial marking is done near the home of her arch enemy, pet INDog Sheba who lives in another building in our society.

The person walking them is our driver Sanjay, who is also our daytime dogwalker and occasional petsitter, and one of Lalee's favourite humans. When I adopted Lalee I was working at an NGO kennel for six hours a day and I needed someone to walk her. Ever since he has been her favourite walking companion. I'm ashamed to admit she refuses to stay outside more than 20 minutes at a time with me, but with Sanjay she walks for an hour or more!

Golden fleece, puppy face

Nearly a month has passed since we lost our darling Bandra, but I haven't been able to bring myself to write about him. There's too much to say. I don't know where to begin and where to end.

So I'll tell you about him through these pictures taken over the four wonderful years we had together.



Bandra's portrait by photographer Heather Fener, January 2009

Bandra didn't have much INDog in him, as you can see from his photos. He was possibly a retriever-mix.

He was I think an abandoned dog, dumped at Bandra station where he then lost a foreleg in a train accident. A terrible maggot infestation followed, but he was rescued eventually and brought to the NGO I worked for at the time. In spite of the betrayal and trauma, he didn't lose his affection for people nor an ounce of his cheerfulness or goofy sense of fun. He battled liver cancer (successfully) in 2006, and also severe hypothyroidism.



This is how he looked at the time of his rescue (2005) and adoption (2006)

Four fun years followed, for him and even more so for us. He was a king in our house. There was an ongoing competition for status with Lalee, but they were actually rather fond of each other, with quite a bit of friendly sniffing and tail-wagging when they thought we weren't looking!



The sight of him rolling on the bed always made us laugh. Here he had settled down for a nap after a vigorous belly-rub from my husband. Scratching and belly-rubs were Kiran's chief duties on reaching home every evening.

He made frequent trips with us to our bungalow near the sea, where he divided his time between the sofa, the garden and the beach. Click here, here and here for some earlier posts about him in this blog.











The five beach photos above were taken by photographer Rohan Mukerjee, 2008. Above: With Lalee and Lucy.



Being an amputee didn't bother him much. He could run pretty fast, and jump on the bed too. Long walks tired him though and he would often have to sit and rest his leg.

Because of his hopping gait, I gave him the nickname "Bunny" and that's what we usually called him. Also "Bam-bam." One of the lovely things about animals is that they don't mind being given silly names!



Below: Rolling on the grass with Kimaya



The end was sudden and shocking, a silent massive cardiac arrest. But possibly this was the best and least painful way to go. He was blessed. So were we.

It's always too sudden and always too soon to lose a beloved family member, as a friend told me after his death. This is so true. She also reminded me that dogs live in the moment and rarely let thoughts of the past or future bother them. This is a gift and something we should, but don't, learn from our animal friends. Belonging to a sadder species I can't shake off the mourning very easily. I want to believe we'll meet again, some day.

But Bandra was a sunny soul, always cheerful and smiling and always a puppy in his head, though he was probably ten years old at the time he left us. The best tribute I could pay him would be to enjoy each moment as he did.

So I don't want to feel sad when I think of him. He deserves better. I want to remember him as he is in these pictures.

Golden, shining, brave, innocent and happy forever.

Pups for adoption, Mumbai

A male and female pup are available for adoption. They are about 6 weeks old and have been dewormed and treated for fleas. Both are healthy, playful and intelligent. Those interested should write to anisha.ratwani@gmail.com

Photo: Anisha Ratwani
Mumbai

Little Boy needs a home - Mumbai

Hi everyone, my name is "Little Boy" and me and my mom are living on the nice Food Lady's front plaza (me and mom call her Food lady 'cause she brings us food every day).

I was born with 9 other brothers and sisters in early December while the Food Lady was on holiday. I don't know what happened to my bro's and sis's but we are right on Juhu Tara Road and the streets are mean to puppies. The Food Lady found out from her security that most of them were hit by cars. So it's just me and mom now.

The Food Lady wants to send mom for sterilization, whatever the heck that is, but she's afraid to send mom off and leave me alone. She can't take me in as much as she'd like to since she has a bunch of cats and lives with roomies. So I need a loving home.

I'm playful and sweet, so sweet you just want to cuddle me. (The Food Lady does and it feels so special but I miss it when she goes). The Food Lady has told me wondrous tales of dogs that live with families all the time. I'd really like one of those...So why don't ya give me a chance. I'm a way cool dude...

From the Food Lady:
Please open your hearts and your home to this boy. He loves petting and being silly. I will gladly get his rabies and distemper vaccines done and sterilization when he is old enough.If you can't adopt him maybe you know someone who will. Thanks.

Kat
099 305 41 905
waggybags@gmail.com
Akshay
098 204 01 915

Kat Ferrara,
Mumbai

Four beautiful pups for adoption, Mumbai

These four pups are up for adoption at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. There are two males and two females. They are about three months old.

Interested parties may please contact Mrs Nair (9323765739) or Jai Chatterjee (9820309094).

Please spread the word around.

Jai Chatterjee
Mumbai

Help Ewalk find a home

(Click on the poster to enlarge it)

Ewalk, is a medium size dog, he's got lots of energy, is quite quick and intelligent, has had all his necessary shots, has been neutered, and is loving towards almost anything living. He is a very sweet dog, and we are very sad to not be able to accommodate him anymore.. but lack of space and time is unfair to his happy life so far.

Robin and Vernon - 9819029476

Mumbai

Romeo is still looking for a home - please help

I posted an appeal from Charu Shah earlier for this lovely puppy. Click here for the appeal and photos. Charu takes her to her apartment for a while every day, and she made these videos so we can all see what a cute, healthy and playful pup Romeo is. Come on, dog lovers - spread the word and let's find this smart little dog the great home she deserves! It'll take just a few minutes of your time to forward this appeal. Imagine the difference you could make to her life.

More Romeo movies here: Romeo and cat toy, Romeo at 2 a.m.

Charu can be contacted at shahcharu76@yahoo.com

Movies: Charu Shah
Mumbai

Honey needs a home

Honey was part of a litter of seven pups that Charu Shah had earlier put up for adoption. Thanks to Charu's efforts, five of them have got good homes. Only Millie and Honey were still on the street.

Millie has recently disappeared and is completely untraceable, though Charu has made several trips around the neighbourhood to look for her. A street dog at the best of times leads a risky life.

Please help find Honey a home to save her from a similar fate. She is around 6 months old now, a mix-breed and quite small in size. She's very sweet-natured and friendly, as you can see from the photos.

Contact Charu on shahcharu76@yahoo.com if you'd like to adopt Honey.

Photos: Charu Shah
Mumbai

Pups for adoption, Mumbai

These pups are orphans.

Their mother died recently and they have been given temporary shelter by Kiran Shekhar and his colleagues in their office compound.

But...the place is on rent and the pups can't remain there permanently. Unless they get adopted they will have to be put on the road outside.

So please do your best to find them good homes! The pups are irresistible and I'm sure they can all get loving owners if we all do our bit to forward the appeal and pictures.

Come on, readers, spend those few extra minutes and try to help these sweet little dogs!

Contact Kiran Shekhar on 09820816268 or Aarti Pamnani on 09920271922. You can also email aarti_pamnani@hotmail.com

Mumbai

Danny and Mickey need good homes

An appeal from Aarti Pamnani and Charu Shah:

Aarti had rescued three pups, who had wandered into her building, giving them food, love and care. She managed to get a home for one of the pups, but as usual, the other two still have not managed to get good homes.

Mickey and Danny are now five months old, and stay in the building compound, but the building residents are extremely cruel and keep hitting them. Aarti has got all their vaccinations done, and is also taking them for obedience training.

We are looking for homes for both these guys and if they can be adopted together, that will be great!

Anyone interested in adopting them, please contact Aarti on aarti_pamnani@hotmail.com or email me at shahcharu76@yahoo.com.

Please forward this mail to as many people as possible and help in getting these guys a home, the building may not allow them to stay for more than a few weeks!

Charu Shah, Aarti Pamnani
Mumbai

Please look out for this missing dog

Scrappy has been missing since February 14 from his home in Mahim, Mumbai. He had recently had an operation on his ear flap and was wearing a ruff. Owner Amfrid Sequeira says Scrappy left the house to go downstairs and never returned. He's searched the city street dog shelters but hasn't found him yet. Please look out for him if you are in Mahim or the neighbouring areas, and do spread the word. If you spot him, call Amfrid on 09833187929.

Mahim,
Mumbai

Anyone looking for a desi girl?

For those who don't know hindi or haven't seen the Bollywood hit movie Dostana, "desi girl" roughly translates as "Indian girl."

Charu Shah has four of them.

Beautiful female pups in solid colours: two brown, one fawn, one white, and all four extremely playful. They love running around with the building kids and the other dogs in the compound. The sisters are three months old, and will be vaccinated before rehoming.

They are available for adoption only in Mumbai.

Please show these pup photos to everyone you know. Anyone wanting a pup can write to Charu on shahcharu76@yahoo.com

Photos: Charu Shah
Mumbai

Brownie and Cutie

These handsome dogs belong to Melanie Fernandes Patel. I love the way they seem to be almost posing for these pictures - obviously they are used to being photographed!

Photos:
Patel family,
Mumbai