Yesterday, my mom found an injured parrot that had taken shelter under her car. It couldn’t fly away or protect itself so she brought it home. She gave it water and then a neighbour offered to let it stay in her balcony until it recovered. The incident made me wonder though, we love our pets like family but how many of us extend the same courtesy to animals that are not our own?
Varghese Oommen is a tour operator residing in Kowdiar, Trivandrum. One rainy day, he and his two sons (Joshua and Jacob) came to the rescue of a pregnant stray dog. And ever since that day 2 years ago, she’s been following him around earning herself the name Shadow.
They rescued her litter of pups and found them loving homes at an adoption drive. Now Mr. Oommen feeds her rice and meat at the same spot every single day. When he’s away on business, however, he gets her food delivered online. Yes, Shadow has her own account on a food delivery app and her favourite dish is Beef Biryani! The Times of India quoted him saying,
“The delivery executives come to this spot and call me asking me where they should deliver. I tell them, you can give it to the dog which will be waiting at the front gate.”
The apartment security guard, Radhakrishnan, who witnesses Mr. Oommen regularly feeding Shadow steps up and helps out when he’s away. When the food is delivered, he unpacks it for her and also cleans up when she’s finished.
He further added, “She has stopped scavenging and doesn’t eat junk, unlike other strays, ever since I started feeding her. So I have to make sure she gets that food even when I am not around and online delivery seemed the best option.”
Earlier, when Mr. Oommen had to change houses, he found an apartment close to his old one just so he could be close to Shadow. He also gets her vaccinated. Isn’t that wonderful? More power to him.