Rescued pooch is queen of her new home

A couple of months earlier, a hearing-impaired Great Dane was found abandoned in Triplicane. She was taken in by a city shelter to begin treatment but the gentle giant had more problems than the team expected — she only had partial sight, a host of infections and was very weak. The fact that she’s an albino dog is probably what got her disowned, the volunteers speculated. Little did Lisa Bones, the Dane, expect her fate would change really soon!

Koushik Udayashanker, a marketing professional, went to pay her a visit at the shelter after looking at a post about her, but decided to wait a few more days to adopt her because she was quite ill. “When we went back, we wanted to take her home for a few days initially to see if our other dog and cat would get along with her,” he says. The big goof had other plans though for she jumped in the car, got to her new home and showed her family that there was no reason for her to leave! “She got along just fine with the other animals and my daughter, so there was no turning back!” smiles Lisa’s proud father.

Given that she can’t see clearly and her sense of direction is slightly off in addition to her size, wasn’t Koushik hesitant of having such a big dog around his daughter? “There was a moment when I felt like I should have gotten a puppy or dog with lesser special needs, but Lisa is such a sweet creature that these doubts disappeared quickly. Moreover, my daughter has been around animals so she wasn’t scared of Lisa at all. In fact, now she tells me they’re twins and will celebrate their birthday together!” 

The pooch is quite patient too, for she allows her new family to dress her up in quirky costumes and props. “I dabble a bit in pet photography and no matter what we do to Lisa, she just sits there enjoying all the attention!” he laughs. She’s even learnt to navigate her way around their home and can walk short distances without a leash. Koushik says, “She doesn’t stray away from me but she does drift onto the road at times because she can’t see too well so that’s a bit of a challenge.”

Thanks to all the love and affection and medical intervention at the right time, Lisa Bones is on the path to speedy recovery, which her human dad couldn’t be any happier about. “When she first came in, she was pretty docile and would just follow us around where we went but now, she’s put on weight and is healthy. She’s slowly beginning to get friskier and playful so let’s see where it goes,” he signs off.