Pawsome Pets: This pack of canines is an Instagram sensation in the city

A sight of the Instagram page of Koyambedu resident Manochitra Raju gives a glimpse of how five dogs can make a home so much happier. Three Indie dogs (Malli (3), Sembha (2) and Trifle (4)), rottweiler Bumble (2) and the youngest, labrador Trooper, of only 11 months, are keeping their proud parent Manochitra busy in chronicling their high spirits and many humorous shenanigans. The story of these five pooches and how they came into her life is a sure inspiration for all animal lovers.

“Malli was abandoned at a construction site and was very unwell when we found her. We took her to the veterinarian and soon formed a good connection with everyone in the home. Later we took in Sembha, when she was a puppy, and was full of ticks with a bad skin infection. 

It was during a visit to an adoption centre in Bengaluru that I happened to meet Bumble and Trifle. For a rottweiler, which is largely misunderstood to be an aggressive dog, Bumble was extremely sweet and kept coming towards me. I had also learnt that Trifle, who is now three-legged, after he was once left in a gutter after being run over by a car, had such little chances of being adopted. So we had to take her home,” recalls Manochitra, who takes care of a construction business in the city.

Just as the family agreed that four dogs were a handful, they soon came across a labrador pup abandoned at one of their construction sites. “We tried contacting the family that was taking care of the pup earlier,  who could not any longer and hence had tied him at the site and left. There was no choice for us to take him in,” she adds.

The famous five not only get along well with each other, but keep each other company. They all have their spaces agreed upon in the house and also love hanging out in the same room where Manochitra works. But, each one agrees that Malli is the pack leader. “Wherever I step out in the city, I occasionally get recognised for being Malli’s mom, from the posts I share on Instagram,” she rejoices.

“Having two dogs at home is always better than having one. Only dogs can give each other better company than humans. So, having multiple dogs at home has been better for me and for them,” Manochitra says. She stresses that it’s the owners, and not the breeds of dogs, that predict whether they can be aggressive or not. Many rottweilers are often left behind in the animal shelters, despite being abused and abandoned, and cannot find homes to go to because they’re conceived as an aggressive breed, she laments.