dogs club

Like most dog-owners in India, we dread Diwali.  Kiba is really scared of firecrackers, more than any of our dogs over the years. It's painful to see what he goes through.  And Kimaya has started getting a bit nervous too. Maybe she's influenced by him? We don't know. Unfortunately our usual getaway place, Nagaon, is actually much noisier than even Mumbai at this time. Hordes of urban barbarians rush there, throng the beach and turn it into a war zone.  So about a month ago, Kiran started searching online for relatively quiet, pet-friendly places to escape to. (I say 'relatively quiet' because it's difficult, or near impossible, to find absolutely quiet places in this country during this festival). When a friend told us about a dog-friendly resort in a place called Jawhar, we jumped at it.  So last week, on the loudest day of Diwali, off we went with the K Gang; their luggage (heavy); and our luggage (light). Jawhar is in the Sahyadri mountains, about 150 km no...

Deepa is back on the blog! After a few years! She's always been one of my favourite Indies, because she looks so like my Lalee. She's been living in Switzerland since 2009, with Nicole Poyyayil's parents on their farm. If you're new to this blog, you can follow her story through the links in this post. I met this beautiful dog in 2008 before she was taken to Switzerland. I visited Nicole's home in Navi Mumbai with my Lalee and Bandra. Deepa was the perfect hostess and seemed happy to have doggy guests over! Lalee was nervous and stayed in a corner, but we got a nice picture of Bandra and Deepa. Last year Nicole shifted to Switzerland, and before her own dogs  arrived from India, she had Deepa staying at her house for a week. 'It was when my parents went for a holiday,' she writes. 'It was very nice having Deepa with me but she was very excited when my papa came to pick her up. I realized that she loves me very much, but her home is with my parents. Even...

Meet Helo, gorgeous little INDog-mix from Delhi! (Don't Indies have the loveliest eyes in the canine world?) In August, at the age of three months, Helo was flown to his forever home in the US. To someone who had been waiting all her life for a puppy from India.  'All those years ago I had wanted to adopt a puppy...in every city that I lived in in India,' writes Mita. 'But to no avail, thanks in part to the fact that we were constantly on the move as my father was in the army. 'Finally this is like a dream come true.' 'I have surrounded myself with pictures and objects from my beloved home country. Yet nothing is more iconic than these beseeching eyes in this sharp and intelligent face.  'He takes me back to every street corner where one or several such little creatures eke out a living. 'At three months. Such a low-maintenance, spirited puppy.' 'Life has completely changed. It's ridiculous how much we love him and what a smart dog he is....