When Anushakha Dutta’s sister was contemplating marriage, she asked the man in question to come home and meet the family. “But more than our parents, it’s our Golden Retriever Piku’s approval she wanted!” Anushakha laughs.
Well, going by how friendly Piku is, it is unlikely he would have disapproved of anyone. And during Sohini’s wedding, that took place recently, the Retriever was over the moon seeing so many invitees. Two twatto trays arrived for Piku and he wore a dashing yellow sherwani at the haldi and a red one for the aiburo bhat, that were both held at DL Park.
Pinku is a pandemic puppy. He was born in 2020, a while after the Duttas’ German Shepherd Dog passed away. “We were in no mood to get another pet but a friend’s Retriever had delivered 10 pups and my mother (Indrani) and I went to see them,” recalls Anushakha.
She picked one up; he peed on her; it was love at first piss. Piku came home with them that very day. The rest is internet history. “Piku has become an Instagram star thanks to his antics that are uploaded. A mirror selfie, that I took over his first six months, got millions of views, and random people on the streets started recognising him,” says the software engineer.
Piku is an intelligent dog who does chores around the house. Every morning he runs to the balcony when the paperboy arrives, and returns with the newspaper in his mouth. He gives part of it to Anushakha and part of it to her dad. When they are done with their halves, Piku is informed and he promptly exchanges the papers for them. “And when I read the paper, he sits facing me,” she demonstrates.
Unlike several dogs left home alone, Piku has no destructive tendencies. “From Day 1, whenever we go out leaving him home he simply crawls under the bed and sleeps. I even placed my phone strategically and kept the recorder on to check what he does and this is what he found,” Anushakha shrugs.
Piku won’t sit on floors. “Be it while accompanying my parents for their morning cuppa or while giving guests company, he only sits on chairs, tables, or sofas,” Anushakha says. “Why, even when we take him for his vaccinations he walks up to the weighing machine without being told, checks his weight, and takes the chair opposite the vet. It’s I who has to stand next to him the whole time!”
