Stories

IDA Success Stories - Champak

Champa at 4 weeks

My sister and I always wanted a pet while my mom was not keen on the idea ( You can't handle yourself! How are you going to handle a pet?!), which was strange as she herself had 3 dogs ;who were all memorable companions. Nevertheless, On June of 2013 my sister had made up her mind that she wanted a proper pet (i.e. not a goldfish or a crab.).We definitely were old enough, 13 and 15 respectively, to get a pet. My sister's birthday fell on the same month and she was keen on getting a furry companion. And finally, after some debate, mom  agreed. The next question was: Where to find one? We immediately decided on adoption because, rather than buying a fancy breed (high maintenance and cost), it would better to give a home to an orphaned puppy than finance a breeder.

We saw her on the IDA Facebook page, on the up-for-adoption photos. She looked like a ball of snow that had grown a button nose and floppy ears. My mother's professor used to work in IDA and that is how we knew about their adoption program. 16 days later, we were heading down to the IDA centre in Deonar. The centre housed tens of if not one or two hundred of dogs, cats and few other domestic animals, most of them sick, injured or babies. They were all fed and taken care of by the workers and volunteers of the organization in addition to the vaccinating and neutering the strays in Mumbai. But our little one was not staying at the centre but stayed separately at a supervisor's house as she was very young.

Champa herself is a survival story. Her mother had been wounded and sick and had given birth to a litter of 6. But she soon passed away and slowly, one by one, the baby puppies had died. Champa was a fighter and survived almost 2 days before IDA could find them. Thus, she was taken care of in a different place.

On the 15th of August 2012, We brought her home. She looked mildly nervous and more than a bit confused throughout the ride home. I couldn't begin to understand the myriad of thoughts and/or emotions going through her mind. She was slightly jumpy during the ride but was rather interested on knowing what was happening in the front seats of that moving metal box.

The second we set her down on the floor of our house, she started exploring, particularly interested in the sofa and the table. I remember that she wasn't even large enough to climb onto the sofa seat, which was a massive 1.2 feet of the floor. She also was quite cautious while exploring the living room, barking at a new sound or sniffing a puzzling smell,( a trait which she still carries while hunting for some secret treasure in mainly roadside plants). But unsurprisingly, she stuck to us at first and preferred to sniff our legs or try and clamber onto my lap. From the first time we got her, she always had a wild energy that was not immediately apparent. The moment we first served her food (boiled rice and vegetables), she attacked it with intent to kill. But this ferocious eating habit declined with time.

Champa enjoying a delicious Diwali treat.

Champak only knew one word at first, which was sit. This was further undermined by the fact that she only obeyed it if she was being served food. This occasion was followed by a short and not-so-subtle energy high, after which she required to be played with for at least 35 minutes or loud barking would commence. She would occasionally become so hyper that we would have to put her in the balcony for a time-out. Still, despite these initial faults, I taught her how to stay, lie-down, and sit without the bribe of food as she was surprisingly easy to teach for a hyper dog. Champa , being the child of hardy street dogs, rarely got sick and never required extensive grooming.

Till date, there are only two words which interest her, they are 'dentastick' and 'chicken'. The former being a treat and the latter being her favourite food. She also has an assortment of unusual habits, which compose of not stepping out of the house unless needed (even if the door is wide open), apprehension of squeaky toys and hairdryers and few others which (I suspect) are fuelled by pure laziness. She also was a bit clingy at first, especially to me or my mother, always preferring to stay in a room with someone.  Though this is probably because she never met her mother or had any doggie siblings.

The experience of having a puppy, essentially a new family member, is quite exciting and was somewhat test of patience and perseverance. This has made me appreciate why my parents had ever thought of having any kids at all. Getting a pet, dog or cat, is a big decision and I will always be glad that we could adopt her and give an orphan a home rather than buy a costly pedigreed dog which came with its set of problems. I look forward to many, many evenings of ball throwing, belly rubbing and dentastick-eating with Champa. A fact of which I am reminded of by a not-so-gentle paw to the face every morning.

Champa, at 1 year 8 months.