He celebrated his two daughters’ birthdays at the same time with cakes, flowers and treats this March. Nothing unusual in that, except the younger one is a six-year-old fawn-coloured Labrador Retriever called Chinky. Welcome to the house of HA Block resident Shyamadas De.

Two days after the celebrations Chinky sits with brother Choco, a chocolate-coloured Labrador Retriever, on the living room couch, still wearing red nail polish from the party. A die-hard dog lover, De along with his wife Sangeeta and daughter Saunli have always shared their lives with pets. They also have a rescue ringed-parrot called Khuku.

“At one point, we were living with six dogs. My parents also had cows in our ancestral house in Birbhum. We cannot think of life without animals,” said De, a civil engineer by profession and a proud father who takes the initiative to obedience train his dogs himself.

Choco and Chinky were brought from Kochi and Chennai respectively in 2014-15. Choco was born on December 5 in 2014 and Chinky on February 20 the next year. “We usually celebrate birthdays. But since we were out of town on Chinky’s special day this year, my daughter decided to go for a joint celebration. We ordered two separate cakes,” said De. From dog beds to bow ties and a range of treats, the labs are spoilt rotten with gifts on their birthdays.

“I wanted to train them for dog shows. Choco comes from a line of champions. But finally, I did not get the time with my schedule. Choco and Chinky are now just well-trained house dogs who rule our hearts and homes,” said De. The six-year-old labs are best friends themselves, enjoying attention from De’s friends and family as well.

“They are usually the heart and soul of any gathering. Chinky also enjoys a drop of red wine in winters and Belgian beer in summer. They also need their special mangsho-bhaat (mutton curry-rice) on Sundays like us,” laughed De. Every evening after work, De savours some family time over tea and snacks. “We gather round our living room chatting for a while. Choco and Chinky always push their way between us, enjoying our adda,” he added. The two also wait for Sangeeta to finish puja every morning so that they can have their share of the fruit prasad.

The dogs share De’s bedroom, lying around as long as De sleeps. “They need an early-morning snack. But after that they go back to bed, waking up only when I do and feed them biscuits,” said De. The morning routine often includes bathing the two and taking them for a game on the terrace. “They have balls and other toys. I often make them play fetch on our terrace,” said De who has also trained the dogs to fetch newspaper.

“Choco can be disobedient at times. But Chinky is the intelligent one. Chinky has learnt to open the tap and drink water directly from the basin. She has taught Choco to do the same. It’s funny when they are at a loss about how to close the tap. The two are often there when my daughter attends her online classes. I keep joking with my daughter about which subjects they enjoy the most,” said De.

He has often taken the dogs on a car ride round Salt Lake and New Town. “They enjoy these treats. I dream of taking them to the seaside some day. That will be their first holiday,” said De.