Gaggle of Gandhinagar puppies!

15 gorgeous pups from two litters, have been dewormed, all healthy and friendly. Have been handled since birth. We can arrange vaccinations. Homes urgently needed. Ready to go now! Puppies are in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Please call Lisa Warden at 09099 828 918 or email on lisa.warden@gmail.com

Gandhinagar
Gujarat

Couch potato

Through recent posts on my dogs I may have created the impression that Lalee is an athletic girl, always bouncing around on beaches or exploring fields and gardens. Just to give a more balanced picture, here are some snaps of one of her favourite activities: finding a comfortable spot and spending some hours in deep slumber. She's very clever at pushing down cushions so she can put her head on them.

At first I tried to discourage the dogs from sitting on beds and sofas...but that's easier said than done and I gave in long ago.

Nagaon and Mumbai

Shalini outdoors

Recent pictures of Shalini, out on a walk with owner Nicole. Can you spot her in the last picture?

Shalini is all grown up now and has retained her supermodel looks. Click here for her earlier photos.

Photos: Nicole Poyyayil
Ahmedabad

Midday meal

Kimaya is very fond of her toys (many gifted to her by Yvonne), and collects most of them in her bed so she can chomp them in the intervals between her other activities. Strangely, she hasn't actually destroyed any of them though some have changed colour after being left in muddy areas of the garden for days on end.

Even if one of them falls out of favour and lies around ignored for a while, just try picking it up...Kimaya will immediately rush to you, grab it firmly and take it back to her bed. I bought some toy mice for the cats, but their ownership is hotly contested. Tabbyrani and MiniPini have for the most part given up the unequal struggle and are content to play with the mice only at night, once Kimaya is taken to a different room to sleep.

I have to go through her collection every now and then and remove interesting new additions like my sandals, clothes, stones, or dead frogs and lizards. Last week she brought in a live frog, but thank goodness, it hopped away and made its escape even before I had got up to rescue it.

Some of them are squeaky toys, and some nights when she starts chewing I wake up with a start wondering if there's a rodent or some kind of bird in the room.

Lalee and Bandra were much older when I adopted them, and they weren't "brought up" to play with toys, so they never showed much interest in them. I find Kimaya's obsession with her toys extremely funny and cute, and also useful - it keeps her occupied for hours and definitely keeps her off my furniture!

Nagaon
More posts on Kimaya here.

Otto's story

We got Otto from Circle of Animal Lovers in Delhi/Gurgaon where I always brought needy dogs that I found on the streets.

I had gone there to hand over another dog when I heard Otto screaming from the room where they kept dogs that have just been handed in. I asked to see him and he was this tiny little puppy (see the picture) that had been found by a friend of the shelter when his mother had died from some illness. He was too young to take care of himself and I knew that the shelter did not have the time to take care of such a small puppy (and yes, it is a lot of work and a lot of visits to the vet!) and because of that he would probably not make it. Of course there are a lot of dogs in Delhi that I could say the same for, but whenever I tried to let Otto down from my arms he started screaming and I knew I would have nightmares for the rest of my life if I left him at the shelter, so I brought him home.

It has to be said that my husband had always been afraid of dogs, and we were already the happy owners of two Indian cats (from another shelter in Delhi), so my husband was not very pleased when I came home with Otto. After I told the full story my husband understood why I simply had to take Otto home (he had no name at that time and in the end it was my husband who named him), but he made me understand that this would be my dog and my responsibility.

I took Otto to work with me every day for months. He was so small that he could not regulate his body temperature so I had to keep him warm in my lap in the cold air-conditioned office. Almost all the Indian staff at my office liked him, but of course some thought he was not that nice as he had been a street dog. I did not care as Otto was the sweetest little dog and so perky! We taught him all kinds of things from a very young age and today he is almost a circus dog!

When Otto was a little older I started teaching him to be home alone and we made sure that he met other dogs as well. Socializing a dog, and especially an independent breed like Pariah Dogs, is very important if you want the dog to be able to handle the complex life we urban and modern humans live today. Otto was with us almost all the time so he got to see India from all the different sides and also very different people.

Over time my husband got very attached to Otto, and the funny thing is, today Otto is really more attached to my husband than to me (even though Otto and I love each other), and my husband has got to love dogs in general!

When we left India in August 2008, we of course brought with us Otto and our two Indian cats Franz and Frede. It was great to have the animals with us in Denmark and Otto did adjust to Denmark very soon. He made a lot of Danish dog friends, and as he is very very friendly towards people (and especially children) everybody here just loves him. His look is also very special in Denmark and people often think he is a "purebred." There have even been some people that have asked where they can get a dog like Otto.

We really love Otto and can never imagine having another kind of dog. His looks, his independence, his intelligence together with his perky nature just make him a very very special dog. Of course I would also say that he is not always an easy dog. As Otto lost his mom at a very young age he does have some behaviour problems that we are working on, and his independent nature means that we rarely let him out without a leash as he will run if he sees something he likes. We now live in the countryside and have fenced the garden so that Otto can run around all that he likes and that seems to work just fine.

Overall my husband and I are in love with the Indian Pariah Dog - and who would not be! The straight ears, the curly tail and the slender figure - this is just a very beautiful dog with such a "puppy" look.

I think more Indians should understand that they have gold running around on the streets of India. You have a very special breed that has existed for thousands of years together with you, and it is like the Indian people, beautiful, lively and gracious. And yes, Pariah Dogs (and street dogs in general) can be loving and good-looking dogs if they get the love they deserve - food, respect and love, that really is the answer.

So India, be proud of your native dogs like so many other countries are proud of theirs. You really have something that is worth fighting for and making sure will live on for years to come.

Text: Randi Lildballe
Photos: Nicholas Caron
Denmark