Imagine waking up to see a puppy cuddling up to you in bed! It was the stuff of my dreams,” smiles Aarushi Das. Two years ago her mother had kept a Chihuahua on Aarushi and her sister’s bed one morning while they were fast asleep. It was the best gift they could have asked for.
Their mother’s only wish was if she could have pulled this off on Children’s Day. “But the puppy’s delivery — from Madurai — got delayed due to the lockdown and Addie arrived one December morning in 2020,” says their mother Mita Joardar.
Now Addie has grown but you can still call her small. “She weighs two or three kilos and fits inside every bag,” laughs Aarushi, a Class XII student of The Newtown School. “That’s how we carry her on vacations.”
The word addie means “sweet and pleasant” in Old German and it’s just how her nature has turned out to be. “She loves everyone, even strangers she meets on the road,” says Aarushi. But she knows when to be on her guard. “Once this carpenter came over and Addie didn’t like his vibe. She kept barking at him till we escorted her into a room.”
Addie loves listening to the music played by Aarushi and her younger sister Aarohini. The girls play the piano, drums and ukelele, and Addie finds it so relaxing that she dozes off as they practise.
But the doggie likes her own space. She sleeps in her own bed in her own room, for instance, and doesn’t bother the girls for attention when they sit down to study. “Only once she ran off with my math exam paper and tore it to bits. Thankfully this was after the exam was over,” says Aarushi.
The pet-loving family had always wanted a dog but only took the plunge during the lockdown as they figured everyone was home to give the puppy attention. And the girls’ parents say the dog has taught them to be caring and responsible. The girls are always watching videos on dogs’ well-being and are alert about her putting anything unhealthy into her mouth.
Addie likes posing for photographs and Aarushi proudly says her pictures fetch more ‘likes’ on social media than theirs. “We haven’t met a single person who’s scared of Addie. In fact, an aunty’s fear of dogs vanished after meeting her,” Aarushi smiles.
If you have a pet you have brought up at home as a family member and which has its eyes only for you, write to us with your contact number at The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in
