Pawsome Pets: When Zorro the dog came to an elderly man’s rescue

“We adopted Zorro when she was two months old from a family friend because they were moving and couldn’t take her along,” begins Vandana G, a homemaker. “We’d always wanted to have pets and couldn’t bear the thought of her being left alone,” she says.

It is funny that the pooch got named after a male movie character, when she’s of the opposite gender! “We first thought that the puppy was male and it was too late to change the name by the time we found out it that shewas a female,”she smiles.

After becoming a part of the family, Zorro formed an instant connection with Vandana’s son. She says. “He began taking care of her in terms of food, walks and play time. In fact, she was very feisty even as a little one, so we felt the name fit her.” The pooch till date takes on much bigger dogs but is very gentle with children, so the kids in the neighbourhood enjoy playing with her.

Over the years, she has developed many little quirks and habits, out of which wearing pretty and colourful T-shirts is one. Vandana recalls, “We started making her wear T-shirts because she gets dirty within a day — she occasionally likes sleeping with her head inside a flower pot as the soil remains cool. Now, she has gotten so used to the clothes that she feels naked and restless if we take them off.”

An unforgettable incident that Zorro has left her human family with, is the day she rescued an elderly man in their building. “A neighbour of ours, who couldn’t hear, was trapped inside the elevator when the power went off. No one knew where he was but Zorro came to the rescue and helped us trace him,” says the proud mother.“Similarly, from the day we got her, we feel we’ve become more receptive to animals,” she sums up.