dogs club

We've had many moving adoption stories this month and here is another one.  This sweet INDog-mix was born on the streets of Delhi and flown to the US by a rescue group.  His first six months of life were full of changes and stress...till he finally found his very own home with Shelby Amador Nava and Aiden. Arrow's story, by Shelby: A few months ago, my son and I decided it was time to adopt a new family member. My son is 10 years old and an only child. After making the decision to adopt, we searched. We looked in kennels, rescue groups, Craiglist and had an innate belief that we would just know when we had found him or her. It wasn't about finding a particular breed, or selecting something cute. It was about finding the one. The one dog who could watch over us but still snuggle. The one who my son could call his best friend and I could call our trusted companion. After a couple of months of searching we found him. A local rescue group had his picture on their website, and b...

We often say dogs choose the owner, not the other way around.  Suzy and Katie's mother actually did choose an owner for her pups: her friend Sharanya Chatterjee. These striking INDog sisters live with Sharanya's family in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. I love this story Sharanya wrote for us: 'It all started when I used to wait at the bus stop for my school bus and a brown pariah puppy used to be my companion, in return for a pack of biscuits daily. 'As I grew up and so did this dog (now named Disco because of her amazing happy dance whenever she saw me), we developed a great friendship. 'One fine day she jumped our boundary wall and came inside, very hungry. Somehow I managed to convince my mom to let me feed her.  'She would roam around the neighbourhood and come to our home only for food. 'Everything was manageable, until she got pregnant.  'Although she delivered and nursed her four babies by the roadside, strangely one day she picked up one of the pups, a b...

Assam is full of beautiful perfect INDogs, and Tuffy is no exception. She lives with Mala Dutta and her family in Guwahati. 'Tuffy came into our lives one stormy night in April, six years ago,' says Mala. 'She was a little pup. She had squeezed herself under our gate and taken shelter from the rain under our car.  'My grandpa heard her whimpering and brought her into the house. The rest is history... 'At that time we had our 12-year old beloved mix-breed dog Jonky who was the life of our house. When Tuffy "adopted" us, I remember telling my mother that perhaps Jonky would be leaving us soon and that this was God's way of making sure we wouldn't be without a dog after he was gone.  'Sure enough...Jonky died in August that very year. Leaving the entire family heartbroken beyond words. Specially my mother. 'After burying Jonky in our garden I broke down, crying uncontrollably.  'Tuffy, just a few months old then, refused to leave my side a...

These are Tippu's lady friends (Tippu of Thrissur, not the pup Tippu of Kozhikode).  They started living on Sajoy's property some time ago.  'Two months ago they were chicken-killers,' says Sajoy. 'Now I'm giving them meals and they've stopped killing poultry!' They eat from the same bowl without conflict. Dogs with high prey drive often continue to kill whatever they can even if they are well-fed; but luckily these two seem to have been killing chickens only for survival. By feeding them Sajoy has actually saved their lives. Villagers do not tolerate dogs that kill livestock and poultry. Such dogs are usually poisoned.  These girls definitely love Sajoy for feeding them, even if they don't know he saved them from a horrible death.  Sajoy will be trying to get them spayed by the nearest vet. Meanwhile the duo have not just changed their eating habits; they have also become local celebrities! 'A few days ago a thief came to rob a neighbouring hou...

I love this pup's photos and name (Harry Potter fans won't need an explanation). Bright and handsome Hufflepuff lives in Kolkata with his rescuer and adopter, Vishwajeet Samuel Gain.  'Someone from my church told me about a litter near her house that she was taking care of,' says Vishwajeet. 'I told her I wanted one. 'So I went off to her house, and there were five of them! I wish I could have taken them all in, but my parents would allow just one.  'That's when I chose Huffy. He was the tiniest and quietest of them all, and I knew he was the one that needed the most care. So I brought him in, and that's how it all began. 'When we got him he had white paint on his head and nose. Don't know how that might have happened, but we managed to remove it finally. '  First day... 'He was three months old at the time. Now he's around eight months.' 'Bath time! He loves it, but he's too cool to show it!' Vishwajeet and Huffy ...

This is a different Tippu from our handsome friend in Thrissur with the same name . This Tippu is also in Kerala, looks very similar and is as handsome!  To avoid confusion I'm going to refer to this pup as Tippu of Kozhikode, and the older one as Tippu of Thrissur.  Tippu of Kozhikode was adopted by Elvis Shaji on his college campus in Adoor, Pathanamthitta district. He was around four weeks old at the time. 'I found him on my college grounds, along with eight other pups, scared to death and shy,' says Elvis. 'They were probably left there by someone who couldn't manage all of them. 'If anyone went close to the pups, only one of them would respond with a growl and a bark. I took that puppy with me to my hostel, where I gave him a place to sleep and a feeding bowl. He was scared of my room-mates, but soon overcame his fear. 'When he was around two months old I took him to my home at Kozhikode (Calicut). 'He is about three and a half months old. I don...